Brexit. Why do Brits want Out of the EU?

Early general election: date of poll
The Government has tabled a motion proposing that an early general election be held. The motion is in the terms set out in section 2(2) of the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011. If agreed to by a super-majority of the House of Commons, an early election will take place in accordance with that Act.

In the event this House approves the motion for an early election, I will recommend that Her Majesty the Queen appoints 12 December as the date of the general election. This would mean Parliament dissolving just after midnight on 6 November.

In line with the Fixed-term Parliaments Act, the date of Parliament’s return will be set by Royal Proclamation following Dissolution, and I will recommend to The Queen that the first meeting of the new Parliament takes place before 23 December.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union’s Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said on Wednesday the risk of Britain’s chaotic departure from the bloc without a divorce agreement still existed, and that future trade talks would be “difficult and demanding”.

Barnier spoke as Britain was headed for a Dec. 12 national election that Prime Minister Boris Johnson hopes will unlock the Brexit stalemate after his factious parliament refused to swiftly ratify his divorce deal with the EU.

“The risk of Brexit happening without a ratified deal still exists,” Barnier told a speech in Brussels. “We still need to prepare.”

“In all member states, there is a big difference in preparedness between bigger companies and SMEs. It’s not time to become complacent. Work with SMEs in particular needs to continue,” he said, referring to small and medium enterprises.

He said a no-deal split could happen at the end of January, if the British parliament failed to ratify Johnson’s deal and London did not get another delay on the divorce.

It could also happen at the end of the status-quo transition period envisaged after Brexit until the end of 2020, Barnier said, if no new trade deal is agreed between the two sides by then and no extra time is given to achieve that.

The Frenchman warned there was precious little time between the Brexit day and the end of 2020 to agree a new trade deal.

“It will be a difficult and demanding set of negotiations,” he said. “The time we have at hand to conclude this negotiation will be extremely short, 11 months.”

“Because of our geographic closeness and our economic independence... we want to have solid guarantees on the level-playing field aspects.”

Barnier warned the bloc will only give Britain as much access to its single market after Brexit as is justified by London ensuring that EU rules and standards are preserved.

“We will keep a close watch and be extremely vigilant on ... social rights, environmental protection, state aid and obviously on issues of taxation.”

“We want zero tariffs, zero quotas and zero dumping.”

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar on Wednesday said he would not call an election this year due to the continued risk of a chaotic British exit from the European Union.

Varadkar faced calls from some Irish lawmakers to call an election around the same time as the British election on Dec. 12 to take advantage of a three-month delay to Britain’s EU exit, which is now scheduled for Jan. 31.

“We could find ourselves in a difficult period between Dec. 12 and Jan. 31 not knowing if the Brexit agreement will be ratified, not knowing if the new [British] government may seek renegotiation, potentially even facing into the risk of a no-deal Brexit on Jan. 31,” Varadkar told journalists in Dublin.

LONDON/SWINDON, England (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson sparked an angry backlash from Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage on Saturday after he rejected calls to drop his Brexit deal and embrace a clean break from the European Union, potentially splitting the eurosceptic vote.

Johnson had previously pledged to take Britain out of the EU with or without a deal on Oct. 31, before lawmakers voted to force him to seek an extension until Jan. 31.

But he has abandoned the threat of a no-deal Brexit in his Conservative Party’s manifesto for the Dec. 12 election, the Times newspaper reported on Saturday. It added that the focus would be on getting his Brexit deal approved.

On Friday, Johnson rejected a call from the Brexit Party to drop the deal he negotiated with the European Union last month in order to form a new electoral pact, saying that he could put his deal through parliament after any election win.

“What we’ve got is a fantastic deal that nobody thought we could get,” Johnson said. “As soon as we get back in the middle of December, we can put that deal through.”

In Britain’s tortuous journey since the 2016 referendum vote to leave the EU, businesses and economists have cautioned that leaving the bloc without a deal to smooth the transition would deliver a big blow to the British economy.

Proponents of a no-deal Brexit say it provides a clean break from EU rules and regulations.

“If The Times are right and Boris Johnson will abandon a clean break Brexit, and he wins an election on this, we will never be free of EU rules,” Brexit Party Leader Nigel Farage said in a tweet.

“The deal is simply not Brexit and does not get Brexit done.”

Farage on Thursday interviewed U.S. President Donald Trump, who said that Jeremy Corbyn, leader of Britain’s opposition Labour party, would be “so bad” for Britain.

On Saturday, Corbyn said Trump was entitled to his opinion but again warned of the dangers of a trade deal with the United States, saying it threatened Britain’s public National Health Service, a claim Johnson and Trump both deny.

“The reality of no-deal is (heading) straight into the arms of Donald Trump. Straight into the arms of a free trade deal with the USA... and their desire to take over our public services,” Corbyn said at a rally in Swindon, 70 miles west of London.

“We will not go down that path under any circumstances. Our public services, our national health service is not for sale, to Donald Trump or anybody else.”

Both major parties face battles on at least three fronts: Against each other, with the hardline Brexit Party seeking to poach leave voters, and with the Liberal Democrats seeking to win over those who oppose Brexit altogether.

Opinion polls give Johnson a sizeable lead over Labour, but also suggest that more than 10% of voters back the Brexit Party - enough to split the pro-Brexit vote in some seats and hand victory to Labour.

The Conservative manifesto will also not include a commitment to a fiscal rule, the Times reported, relaxing the government’s grip on public finances. The Conservative party did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The government’s previous fiscal rule pledged to hold the underlying budget deficit below 2% of the country’s economic output in the 2020/21 financial year.