UK PM loses fresh parliamentary vote as tensions rise

LONDON AFP Sept26, 2019 -British Prime Minister Boris Johnson suffered yet another setback on Thursday after MPs rejected his call to briefly suspend their business for his party’s conference, highlighting the hostility he faces in parliament just weeks before Brexit.   

In his seventh successive defeat in parliament, MPs voted to reject his call for three days off next week to hold his Conservative party’s annual conference.   
The Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that Johnson’s decision to suspend parliament for five weeks was unlawful, as it had the effect of frustrating lawmakers ahead of the Brexit deadline.   
MPs reconvened on Wednesday but, in a stormy session, Johnson showed no contrition and instead vowed to press ahead with his plan to leave the EU, no matter what.   

Thursday’s vote was the seventh in a row that Johnson has lost in the Commons, where he no longer has a majority and where most MPs oppose a “no-deal” exit.   

Johnson has called for an election to resolve the deadlock in parliament but opposition MPs say they will not support such a move until the threat of ‘no deal’ is removed.