British Prime Minister Boris Johnson failed to get enough votes for a snap election to take place before the current Oct. 31 Brexit deadline.
Johnson wanted to have a snap election on Oct. 15 to secure a majority and ensure his country leaves the European Union. Only 293 of the 650 House of Commons members backed the proposal Monday, short of the two-thirds majority needed, according to the Associated Press.
Many of the opposition members of Parliament chose to abstain from the vote as they want to have the government negotiate another delay from the country’s planned exit of the EU.
Johnson has said he would rather “be dead in a ditch” than have another delay.
BREAKING: Boris Johnson’s second attempt to trigger an early general election has failed.
The PM needed two-thirds of all 650 MPs to support a snap general election if he was to be successful.
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— Sky News (@SkyNews) September 9, 2019
Johnson accused the opposition of having “now twice denied the British people their say in an election.”
“They have now twice denied the British people their say in an election” – @BorisJohnson says he will ‘press on with’ negotiating a deal with the EU and claims the opposition ‘cannot hide’ from an election forever.
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— Sky News (@SkyNews) September 9, 2019
Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn countered Johnson, saying, “This government is a disgrace and the way the prime minister operates is a disgrace.”
