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Is Johnson the last UK prime minister?
With this election, Johnson has now gained the parliamentary majority, which provides him with enough seats in Parliament to pass his Brexit deal with the EU without negotiating with other parties.
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A video grab from footage broadcast by the UK Parliament's Parliamentary Recording Unit (PRU) shows Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson responding to his defeat on Standing Order 24, an emergency debate on a no-deal Brexit in the House of Commons in London on September 3, 2019. (AFP/PRU)
U
nited Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson won a considerable victory in December’s UK general election after voters backed his pledge to “Get Brexit Done” and take Britain out of the European Union by the end of January. It was the biggest Conservative majority since Margaret Thatcher in 1987.
As this election was all about Brexit, one can say that with this election, the Brexit dilemma is finally over and long-awaited stability is on the horizon.
For many years, Brexit has consumed too much time and energy in the UK and occupied much of the country’s political, social and economic life.
Both Boris Johnson and his predecessor Theresa May lacked a parliamentary majority and had failed to obtain approval for withdrawal bills from Parliament.
With this election, Johnson has now gained the parliamentary majority, which provides him with enough seats in Parliament to pass his Brexit deal with the EU without negotiating with other parties.
The victory gives him the full mandate to deliver Brexit. Once the UK Parliament has ratified the withdrawal agreement, the European Parliament will give its consent in January, before the UK’s departure on Jan. 31.
Well-informed Philip Stephens of the Financial Times laments: “Mr Johnson’s insistence on an end-2020 deadline for negotiations with Brussels means the best Britain will get from the EU is a bare bones deal covering trade in goods. The damage to the economy inflicted by Brexit will thus be at the pessimistic end of expectations. The facts of geopolitics are likewise unaltered”.
