EU grant Boris Johnson a Brexit 'flextension' he said he would never ask for but then asked for

British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, has spent the last three months telling the people of the UK that he would never ask the EU to extend Article 50 beyond October 31, 2019 but on Monday the EU granted Mr. Johnson an extension after he requested one earlier this month.
By Andrew Quinn
Published 28th Oct 2019, 12:09 BST
Boris Johnson.Boris Johnson.
Boris Johnson.

The UK was due to leave the EU at 11:00pm on October 31, 2019 but under the Benn Act, which was designed to reduce the risk of No Deal Brexit, Mr. Johnson was legally compelled to request a further extension to Article 50 if a withdrawal agreement had not been ratified.

The EU responded on Monday confirming its offer of a three month extension until January 31, 2019.

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The offer also includes a degree of flexibility in that the UK can leave the EU before the aforementioned date if the government are able to ratify Mr. Johnson's new Brexit withdrawal agreement.

The extension makes the possibility of a general election before Christmas much more plausible.

The Liberal Democrats and Scottish National Party wrote to Prime Minister Johnson over the weekend telling him they would support holding a general election on December 9, 2019 once the EU officially granted an extension.

The Conservatives offered the opposition parties a chance to scrutinise his new withdrawal agreement last week if they agreed to hold a general election on December 12, 2019.

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It is unclear whether Jeremy Corbyn led Labour will support either of the two proposals.

The vote on whether or not to hold a general election will take place in the House of Commons on Monday evening.

Related topics:Boris JohnsonPrime MinisterBrexitLiberal DemocratsJeremy CorbynLabourHouse of Commons