British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has lost the absolute majority in the lower house: a Conservative MP, Phillip Lee, changed the faction during the Prime Minister's speech. He stood up - and walked demonstratively from the Tories to the pro-European Liberal Democrats.
The change took place immediately before the decisive power struggle in parliament to the highly controversial Brexit plans of the head of government.
ZUMA Press / imago images
Phillip Lee: Formerly Tory, now Liberal Democrat
"I came to the conclusion that as a Conservative MP, it is no longer possible for me to serve the interests of my constituents and those of the country," Lee said in a statement he shared via Twitter. Johnson's government is aggressively promoting harmful Brexit and jeopardizing the country's integrity.
After a great deal of thought, I have come to the conclusion that it is no longer possible to serve my constituents' and country's best interests as a Conservative Member of Parliament. My letter to the Prime Minister: pic.twitter.com/0QreSbSdwR
- Dr Phillip Lee MP (@DrPhillipLeeMP) September 3, 2019The British House of Commons had returned on Tuesday for a summer break session. Presumably in the evening, the request of 18 deputies to an urgent debate on a no-deal Brexit will be discussed. With this maneuver the deputies want to gain control of the agenda for Wednesday, and then bring a law against unregulated Brexit in the fast track by the lower house.
With a vote on this Tuesday evening is calculated until about 23 clock CEST (follow the events here in the news blog). If the rebels succeed in implementing their plan, the government has already announced that it intends to call for a new election. Whether she succeeds, however, is uncertain.
The pressure to act on the no-deal opponents is enormous because Johnson has ordered the Parliament to take a forced break lasting several weeks, which begins next week. The deputies will then return again on 14 October.
