LONDON — Prime Minister Boris Johnson suffered a damaging setback Tuesday in his quest to take Britain out of the European Union, losing a critical vote in Parliament and putting his plans for Brexit on hold as Britain’s three-year struggle to resolve the issue continued to defy any solution. Mr. Johnson’s latest defeat came only 15 minutes after his first victory in Parliament. Lawmakers granted preliminary approval to the withdrawal deal he struck with the European Union last week, a major step toward achieving the prime minister’s goal of Brexit and one that broke a string of defeats for him. But the lawmakers refused in a crucial follow-up vote to put legislation enacting Britain’s departure on a fast track to passage, which could have enabled Mr. Johnson to meet his deadline of leaving the European Union by Oct. 31. By blocking Mr. Johnson, Parliament has thrown the whole process into a legislative netherworld that could mean months of further delays to a process that the nation has long since wearied of and just wants to see end.

Source: New York Times October 22, 2019 14:43 UTC