Brexit came a step closer on Friday as British MPs voted decisively for Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s bill to set the course for the UK’s exit from the European Union (EU) by the 31 January 2020 deadline.
The MPs voted 358 votes to 234 in favour of the so-called divorce agreement with the 28-member economic bloc, handing Johnson a massive 124-vote majority - with even many Opposition MPs backing the bill.
“The second reading of the Withdrawal Agreement Bill has passed – which means we are one step closer to getting Brexit done,” Johnson said on Twitter soon after the historic vote.
Johnson had called the December 12 snap General Election in the hope of winning a majority with a central “Get Brexit Done” message, which resulted in a landslide victory for his Conservative Party. The bill, which had its second reading in the House of Commons on Friday ahead of the vote, now goes on for further scrutiny in the Commons and House of Lords.
The modified version of the bill tabled this week also includes a ban on an extension to the agreed transition period – during which the UK is out of the EU but follows many of its rules – past 2020.
Opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn told his MPs to vote against it, saying there was "a better and fairer way" to leave the EU.
Earlier, opening the debate on his bill on Friday morning, the UK PM called on the British public to discard the Brexit labels of "leave" and "remain" and come together.
“We come together as a new Parliament to break the deadlock and finally to get Brexit done,” he said.
In related votes, UK MPs also backed the timetable for further debate on the bill over three days when they return after the Christmas recess – on 7, 8 and 9 January 2020. This indicates the UK government is determined to get the bill into law in time for the 31 January Brexit deadline.
“It ensures we depart on 31 January. At that point Brexit will be done. It will be over," Johnson told MPs in the lead up to the vote.
Johnson insists a trade deal with the EU can be in place by the end of the transition period, but the Opposition parties feel the timescale of December 2020 is unrealistic.