How Brexit Blew Up Britain’s Constitution
Boris Johnson is looking less like a traditional conservative and more like a revolutionary in his gambles over Brexit.
Gambling.
Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg
After weeks of poking and jabbing, Boris Johnson finally looks close to getting the reaction from parliament he seems to have wanted all along. If lawmakers succeed in taking charge of the parliamentary time table Tuesday in order to pass legislation that would block the prime minister from pursuing a no-deal Brexit, he is expected to demand a snap election. A two-thirds majority of parliament would be required to approve a new vote.
It’s a high-risk strategy befitting a politician who likes to roll the dice. Neither Johnson nor anyone else can predict how it will unfold. What can be said, though, is that when the dust settles, Britain’s constitutional landscape will not be quite the same again.