This week we’ve been reading even more about Brexit, as the drama goes into the next round. On Tuesday, the UK parliament supported a law that makes it possible to hold an election on Dec 12, the first December election since 1923.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has asked parliament to agree to an election in order to secure a majority for his Brexit deal with the EU. The UK parliament has been unable to agree on Mr. Johnson’s deal, or on that of his predecessor, Theresa May. Parliament did, however, secure that there will be no no-deal-Brexit, forcing Mr. Johnson to seek an extension of the Brexit date with his EU colleagues. The EU has agreed to such an extension until Jan 31, 2020, in the form of a so-called “flextension”, making it possible for the UK to leave the block before that date if parliament agrees to the Brexit deal.
Mr Johnson hopes that his conservative party will win a solid majority in the December 12 general election. This would likely allow the prime minister to swiftly get his deal ratified. As of October 30th, the Tories were polling about 15 percentage points ahead of Labor, its main competitor. Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of the opposition, has vowed to “transform” Britain by increasing taxes and by rebuilding public services. While the Tories are mostly running a pro-Brexit campaign, Mr. Corbyn seeks to broaden the appeal of his party beyond the promises of a softer Brexit in case of a Labor win. Meanwhile, Liberal Democrats and the Scottish National Party are seeking to reverse the 2016 Brexit decision altogether.
The general election in the UK will be interesting to observe since it was called to resolve the cross-cutting issue of integration with the EU. Whether or not the outcome of the election will make it easier for a new parliament to come to terms with the results of the referendum is anybody’s guess. But the fact that the two sources of legitimacy – referendum and parliamentary elections – seem to be so much in conflict with each other calls into question once again the wisdom of attempting to resolve highly complex issues through a simple yes-no-vote.