LONDON — Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s latest showdown with Parliament over Brexit was pushed back 24 hours on Monday after a ruling by John Bercow, the speaker of the House of Commons and a perennial thorn in the British leader’s side. Mr. Johnson had hoped to persuade lawmakers to agree on Monday in principle with his revised Brexit agreement, struck with the European Union last week in Brussels, signaling what many hoped would finally resolve an issue that has divided the country and its warring politicians for more than three years. But Mr. Bercow, harking back to a critical decision he made earlier in the year, ruled that the vote could not go ahead because Parliament had considered the same measure on Saturday and its rules forbid the introduction of the same bill more than once. Describing the attempt to stage the vote as “repetitive and disorderly,” Mr. Bercow said that the government had failed to show respect to Parliament by bringing back the same question after just 49 hours.

Source: New York Times October 21, 2019 15:04 UTC