Prime Minister Boris Johnson Calls For December Election To Break Brexit Deadlock

Topline: British prime minister Boris Johnson has said he will grant lawmakers more time to scrutinize a bill setting out the terms of the U.K's exit from the European Union, but on one condition-lawmakers must agree to a general election on December 12.

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• Johnson has effectively conceded that his long-held pledge to achieve Brexit by October 31 will not happen, telling the BBC that EU leaders are likely to grant the U.K. a new extension.
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• Johnson told the BBC that for the bill to progress through the Commons, he would first hold a vote next week on holding a general election: "If [lawmakers] genuinely want more time to study this excellent deal, they can have it-but they have to agree to a general election on 12 December," he told the BBC.
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• The next steps hinge on the length of delay that the EU grants the U.K.-if the trading bloc grants a three-month delay until the end of January, Johnson will first hold a vote for a general election, and a subsequent vote to try and push his Brexit deal through before the election takes place.
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• But if EU leaders grant a short extension, until November 30 at the most, Johnson is expected to try again to get his deal ratified by British lawmakers, according to the BBC.

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• The prime minister might want an election but faces a huge challenge to win over the two thirds of lawmakers needed to approve his plan for a new ballot.
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• If lawmakers approve a general election, Parliament will be dissolved on November 6.

What to watch for: EU leaders are expected to announce whether they will give the U.K. a new extension to the October 31 Brexit deadline on Friday. Without the extension the U.K. will crash out of the bloc without a trade deal.

Key background: Johnson campaigned to become the leader of the ruling Conservative Party with the pledge to "get Brexit done on October 31st." He has repeated this pledge time and time again, but after suffering key defeats in parliament this week-first on votes on his renegotiated Brexit deal, and then on a rushed timetable of discussions on the terms of the U.K. exit-control of the Brexit timeline has slipped out of his hands.