On September 3, 2019, the Conservative party in the United Kingdom (“UK”) lost its majority in Parliament when Phillip Lee, a Conservative Member of Parliament (“MP”), defected to join the Liberal Democrats. As a result, Prime Minister Boris Johnson lost his ability to secure Britain’s “hard” or “no-deal” exit from the European Union (“EU”) on October 31, 2019, which he has promised to achieve on a number of occasions.

After winning the Parliamentary majority, members of the opposition voted to delay the “no deal” Brexit supported by Prime Minister Johnson. On September 4, 2019, the House of Commons passed a bill to delay Brexit beyond its current deadline of October 31, 2019. Although a number of conservatives in the House of Lords sought to filibuster the bill, the House of Lords approved the bill on September 6, 2019, which means that it has become law this week.

Under the new bill, Prime Minister Johnson must obtain, by October 19, 2019, Parliament’s approval for either a Brexit deal or a “no deal” Brexit. If the October 19, 2019 deadline passes without Parliament approving either, the Prime Minister must request an extension of Brexit until January 31, 2020. If the EU rejects this date and proposes a different date for Brexit, Parliament is empowered to reject or accept the new Brexit date.

The Brexit extension bill passed with support from opposition party members and a number of Conservative MP’s. Johnson immediately announced that he is expelling these MP’s from the Conservative Party and banning them from candidacy in the Conservative Tory party in the next election.

Prior to passage of the bill, Johnson stated that, even if the bill were passed, he would “never” request a Brexit extension beyond the October 31 deadline. He added that “the people of {the UK} will have to choose” in an election whether a “no deal” Brexit should proceed. Under the UK’s Fixed-Term Parliaments Act, however, Johnson needed to secure a two-thirds majority in Parliament to hold an early general election. His call for new elections was rejected by Parliament this week, leaving the Prime Minister’s plans for a “no-deal” Brexit in doubt.