UK's Brexit deal estimated to cost almost $100 billion

October 30, 2019

LONDON (AP) — A respected British think tank slammed Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Brexit deal on Wednesday, concluding that the economy would be 3.5% smaller over the next decade compared with staying in the European Union.

The study by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research says the agreement would deliver a 70 billion-pound ($90 billion) blow to the U.K. Researchers said that the outlook is clouded by political and economic uncertainty.

"We would not expect economic activity to be boosted by the approval of the government's proposed Brexit deal," the group said. The researchers based their prediction over the long term on the assumption that the U.K. would leave the bloc with a free trade agreement with the EU after a transition lasting until 2021 while negotiating new deals with other nations. It said that higher "barriers to goods and services, trade and restrictions to migration," would force the economy to slow.

As politicians squabble over how and when Britain will leave the EU, Brexit is reshaping the economy. Initially planned for March, Brexit was pushed back to Halloween and now is not likely to happen before January. Companies are meanwhile shifting investments, creating new supply chains and stockpiling goods to mitigate any damage that would occur from leaving the EU, with or without a deal.

The NIESR estimated that the economy was 2.5 % smaller than it would have been had Britain not voted in 2016 to leave the European Union. The British government says it plans a different scenario than the one considered by the think tank.

"We are aiming to negotiate a comprehensive free trade agreement with the European Union, which is more ambitious than the standard free trade deal that NIESR has based its findings on," the Treasury department said in a statement.

The research suggested a no-deal Brexit would cause an even greater loss to the economy, with a 5.6% blow to GDP. Liberal Democrat Brexit spokesman Tom Brake said the figures "come as no surprise". "The Tories' obsession with Brexit at any cost puts our future prosperity at risk," he said. "It is unconscionable that any government would voluntarily adopt a policy that would slow economic growth for years to come."

Chess move: UK parties suggest Dec. 9 vote in Brexit gambit

October 27, 2019

LONDON (AP) — Two British opposition parties on Sunday proposed an even earlier election date than Prime Minister Boris Johnson has offered, trying to force his government to delay a final decision on its European Union divorce deal.

The chess move by the Liberal Democrats and Scottish National Party reflects the volatile political landscape now in Britain. The ruling Conservatives desperately want a new election to bolster their numbers in Parliament, but they face resistance from the main opposition Labor Party, which fears the country will be unwittingly tricked into crashing out of the European Union without a deal.

The latest election proposal is an effort to force Johnson to delay debate in Parliament on his Brexit withdrawal bill until after any election, depriving him of a possible victory on his trademark issue going into the campaign. It makes Johnson's government choose between holding an election to improve its position in Parliament and its goal of securing Brexit before that election takes place.

"The challenge is absolutely on (the prime minister), because if he is serious about wanting an election and if he's genuine about having an election before Christmas, then he can back this bill," Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson told the BBC on Sunday.

Looming over the political maneuvering is what Johnson and Parliament are going to do about his Brexit deal and how long an extension EU leaders will give Britain to the current Brexit deadline, which is Thursday. The EU in principle has backed extending the Brexit deadline but officials were meeting again this week to figure out how long it should be.

The Liberal Democrats and the SNP plan to introduce legislation on Tuesday that calls for an early national election on Dec. 9, three days earlier than Johnson proposed and years earlier than Britain's next scheduled vote in 2022.

Because U.K. law requires Parliament to be dissolved 25 working days before an election, the date of any poll will dictate how much time is available to debate Johnson's Brexit withdrawal deal. The Liberal Democrats expect a vote on their proposal Thursday, just days before Parliament would be suspended. That would effectively leave no time for lawmakers to consider Johnson's Brexit deal.

In contrast, Johnson announced last week he will ask lawmakers on Monday to authorize a Dec. 12 election, then use the rest of the legislative term to push through his Brexit deal. Under this plan, Parliament would be dissolved on Nov. 7, giving lawmakers about seven days to debate the withdrawal agreement that Johnson and EU leaders agreed upon.

The two sides have effectively been debating Britain's departure from the 28-nation bloc — which has never seen a member leave — since British voters in June 2016 chose to leave the EU. But Johnson's deal was cemented only 10 days ago — and British lawmakers fear rushing through a document that has enormous economic and political consequences for the country.

The problem for Johnson is that his proposal requires a two-thirds vote of the House of Commons and it is opposed by opposition parties who fear it could lead to an economically damaging no-deal Brexit.

In contrast, the Liberal Democrat plan only needs a simple majority in the 650-seat House of Commons due to laws governing elections. The Liberal Democrat plan would be conditional upon the EU agreeing to extend the Brexit deadline until to the end of January. Johnson has sought a shorter Brexit extension to keep alive the possibility of a no-deal departure, which in turn keeps the pressure on British lawmakers to approve his deal.

Economists say a no-deal departure would be very damaging to both the British and EU economies. Conservative Party chair James Cleverly dismissed the new election proposal as "clearly a gimmick" designed to delay Brexit because it only moves the election date ahead three days. If the Liberal Democrats and SNP really want an election, they should vote for the Dec. 12 date proposed by Johnson, Cleverly said.

"We're not going to listen to two parties who explicitly said they want to stop Brexit from happening," he told the BBC. "We're not going to be complicit in them stopping Brexit." The move by the Liberal Democrats and the SNP is also a challenge to the Labor Party, which has repeatedly vacillated on whether to call an early election in which they could lose seats.

Diane Abbott, a senior Labor spokeswoman, said Sunday that Labor will wait to see what kind of Brexit extension the EU offers before deciding whether to support the latest domestic election proposal. She also repeated the party's position that it will back an early election only after Johnson explicitly says there won't be a no-deal Brexit.

"He could come to Parliament and categorically give Parliament an undertaking that he's not going to come out without a deal, but he won't do that, because coming out without a deal is something that people around him ... would want," she said.

Northern Ireland police issue warning on Brexit unrest

October 24, 2019

LONDON (AP) — The head of the police service in Northern Ireland has warned that any Brexit deal seen to threaten the United Kingdom could lead to disorder. Simon Byrne told the BBC on Wednesday that there was potential for unrest among communities who consider themselves loyal to the U.K.

Byrne says the "loyalist community has at times shown it can mobilize quickly, bring large numbers of people on to the streets and engage in public disorder in support of their cause." The Democratic Unionist Party has vociferously objected to elements in Prime Minister Boris Johnson's deal. They fear that proposals which treat Northern Ireland differently will bolster economic ties to the Republic of Ireland.

UK's Johnson prepares push to heave Brexit bill over line

October 22, 2019

LONDON (AP) — British lawmakers from across the political spectrum were plotting Tuesday to put the brakes on Prime Minister Boris Johnson's drive to push his European Union divorce bill through the House of Commons in just three days, potentially scuttling the government's hopes of delivering Brexit by Oct. 31.

The bill faces two votes Tuesday, with lawmakers first being asked to approve it in principle, followed by a vote on the government's schedule for debate and possible amendments. While many analysts expect the bill to be approved, lawmakers may reject the three-day timetable because of concerns it doesn't provide enough time for scrutiny of the 115-page document, which sets out the terms of Britain's departure from the 28-nation bloc.

Major bills usually take weeks or months to pass through Parliament, giving time for line-by-line scrutiny by lawmakers. Green lawmaker Caroline Lucas tweeted that lawmakers "had more time to debate the Wild Animals in Circuses Act (affecting 19 animals) than they will to decide the future of 65 million people. It's hard to think of anything which better illustrates this Govt's contempt for people, Parliament & democracy."

Ominously for the government, some lawmakers who support the Brexit deal said they would vote against the short timetable. "Unless you are prepared to contemplate more expansive debate, there is not the slightest possibility of considering the deal that has been obtained within the time available," Ken Clarke, a senior lawmaker recently ousted from Johnson's Conservative Party group in Parliament, told the Guardian newspaper.

The showdown comes just nine days before Britain's scheduled departure date. Johnson's government had sought a "straight up-and-down vote" Monday on the agreement he struck last week with the 27 other EU nations laying out the terms of Britain's exit.

But the speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, refused to allow it because lawmakers voted to delay approving the Brexit deal on Saturday, and parliamentary rules bar the same measure from being considered a second time during a session of Parliament unless something has changed.

Bercow's ruling plunged the tortuous Brexit process back into grimly familiar territory: acrimonious uncertainty. Johnson's only hope of securing Britain's Oct. 31 departure, as he has long promised, is to pass the Brexit-implementing bill through Britain's fractious Parliament before then.

Johnson's Conservatives hold just 288 of the 650 House of Common seats, so he will need support form opposition and independent lawmakers to pass the bill. Opposition lawmakers plan to seek amendments that could substantially alter the bill, for example by adding a requirement that the Brexit deal be put to voters in a new referendum. The government says such an amendment would wreck its legislation and it will withdraw the bill if the opposition plan succeeds.

With the Brexit deadline looming and British politicians still squabbling over the country's departure terms, Johnson has been forced to ask the EU for a three-month delay to Britain's departure date.

He did that, grudgingly, to comply with a law passed by Parliament ordering the government to postpone Brexit rather than risk the economic damage that could come from a no-deal exit. European Council President Donald Tusk said Tuesday that EU leaders "will decide in coming days" whether to grant Britain another extension to the deadline for leaving the bloc, but said their decision depends on developments in London.

Tusk said Tuesday that the decision on prolonging Brexit for three months after Oct. 31. "will very much depend on what the British parliament decides or doesn't decide."

Jill Lawless in London contributed to this story.

UK's Boris Johnson set to push for vote on EU divorce bill

October 21, 2019

LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to push for a vote on his European Union divorce deal as Parliament prepares for a week of guerrilla warfare over Brexit. Johnson plans to kick things off by asking for a "straight up-and-down vote" on the EU divorce agreement on Monday, two days after lawmakers voted to delay approving the deal, according to his office.

House of Commons Speaker John Bercow could refuse to allow such a vote because parliamentary rules generally bar the same measure from being considered a second time during the same session of Parliament unless something has changed.

Johnson's Conservative government will also introduce the legislation necessary to implement the Brexit agreement, opening the door to potentially lengthy debates or amendments that could scuttle the deal.

Johnson returns to London to drum up support for Brexit deal

October 18, 2019

LONDON (AP) — After winning the backing of European Union leaders for his new Brexit deal , Prime Minister Boris Johnson was in London Friday looking to secure enough support to get the deal through the fractious British Parliament.

Johnson returned overnight for what is expected to be a busy day attempting to persuade lawmakers to vote for the divorce deal at a rare Saturday sitting of Parliament. It is expected to be a knife-edge vote.

Johnson's Conservative Party doesn't have a majority in the 650-seat House of Commons so he will have to rely on support from other parties and independent lawmakers to get over the line. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab started drumming up support early.

"We've got a real opportunity now to get Brexit delivered faithful to the referendum, move on as a Government, and I think as a country, and lift the clouds of Brexit," he told the BBC. Raab said the government has not given up hope of winning the support of its Northern Ireland ally the Democratic Unionist Party, which has rejected the new deal.

But the chances of that appeared slim. The DUP's Brexit spokesman, Sammy Wilson, said Johnson's Brexit package was bad for Northern Ireland. "I can give you absolute assurance we will not be voting for this deal when it comes before the Commons tomorrow," he told the BBC.

The deal's fate could largely rest on a group of former Conservative Party rebels expelled from the party earlier this year and members from the main opposition Labor Party, which has 244 members. Around 20 of them, mainly representing pro-Brexit parts of the country, have previously indicated a desire to back a deal in order to honor the June 2016 Brexit referendum result.

If Johnson's charm offensive manages to corral enough votes to pass the deal, Britain would leave the EU in an orderly fashion on Oct. 31. If lawmakers reject the deal — as they did three times with an earlier deal presented by Johnson's predecessor Theresa May — a law passed earlier this year compels the prime minister to ask the EU for another extension.

Asked Thursday what he would do if Britain seeks an extension, European Council President Donald Tusk said he would consult the other 27 EU nations in order to reach a decision — leaving open the prospect of another delay.

UK, Irish leaders see 'pathway' to elusive Brexit deal

October 10, 2019

LONDON (AP) — The leaders of Britain and Ireland said Thursday they had spotted a "pathway" to an elusive Brexit deal, keeping hopes of a breakthrough alive just three weeks before the U.K.'s deadline to leave the European Union.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Irish leader Leo Varadkar provided a status update on the issue after a private lunch meeting in northwest England that lasted for several hours. "Both continue to believe that a deal is in everybody's interest," they said in a joint statement. "They agreed that they could see a pathway to a possible deal."

Britain is due to leave the 28-nation bloc on Oct. 31, and attempts to find a deal have foundered over plans for the border between EU member Ireland and the U.K.'s Northern Ireland. The currently all-but-invisible border underpins both the regional economy and Northern Ireland's peace process.

Under a U.K. proposal, there would have to be customs checks on some goods, though not on the border itself. The EU says any customs checks are unacceptable. There was little of substance in Varadkar and Johnson's statement indicating a breakthrough or whether the "pathway" was near or far off.

The two agreed to "reflect" further on their discussions, which concentrated on the challenges of customs and consent. They also agreed to keep talking. After the meeting, Varadkar sounded more positive than he has in recent weeks.

"I think it is possible for us to come to an agreement, to have a treaty to allow the U.K. to leave the EU in an orderly fashion, and to have that done by the end of October," he said. But he warned things could still go wrong, and added: "In terms of how long it will take, I can't predict that with any certainty."

In recent days, Britain and the EU have traded bad-tempered barbs about who is responsible for the deadlock in talks. After Johnson's Downing Street office claimed EU intransigence had made it "essentially impossible" for the U.K. to leave with a deal, European Commission President Donald Tusk warned against playing a "stupid blame game."

Varadkar and other EU leaders say Johnson, who took office in July, has repudiated the withdrawal agreement made with the bloc by his predecessor, Theresa May. That deal was rejected three times by Britain's Parliament, largely because of lawmakers' opposition to provisions to ensure an open Irish border.

Johnson insists the U.K. will leave the U.K. on Oct. 31, with or without a divorce deal. However, many members of Britain's Parliament are determined to prevent a no-deal Brexit, which economists say would plunge the U.K. economy into recession. Last month, they passed a law requiring the government to ask the EU for a delay if no divorce deal has been agreed by Oct. 19 — the day after a key summit of EU leaders in Brussels.

Johnson says he won't delay Brexit past Oct. 31 — but also will obey the law. It's unclear how the two statements can be reconciled. Parliament is expected to hold a rare Saturday sitting on Oct. 19 as lawmakers grapple with what to do next.

Danica Kirka in London contributed.

EU sees hope in Brexit talks; Irish leader sees wide gaps

October 09, 2019

BRUSSELS (AP) — Despite having only days to bridge wide divisions over Brexit, the European Union maintained a semblance of hope Wednesday that the acrimonious fight over Britain's departure from the bloc could somehow still be settled amicably.

Across the European Parliament, voices resonated with frustration that one of the most important events for both the EU and the U.K. in decades had turned into a tone-deaf dialogue only three weeks ahead of Britain's planned Oct. 31 departure.

EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said he was working together with EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier on a last-gasp solution. "Personally, I don't exclude a deal. Michel and myself are working on a deal," Juncker said.

He refused to be more specific but made clear that Brexit talks between the two sides haven't come to an irreparable standstill. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has vowed to take his country out of the EU on Oct. 31 with or without a divorce deal. If Britain does leave, it will be the first EU nation to exit the bloc, ending almost half a century of U.K. membership that brought economic and diplomatic clout to both sides.

For now, Juncker insisted Johnson needed to stop pouring all the blame on the EU for the negotiating standstill. On Tuesday, Johnson's Downing Street office claimed EU intransigence had made it "essentially impossible" for the UK to leave with a deal.

"We are not accepting this blame game that started in London," Juncker said. Johnson, who took office in July after British lawmakers rejected the Brexit deal of his predecessor Theresa May three times, delivered his own Brexit proposals to the bloc last week.

Britain is seeking to renegotiate May's rejected divorce deal to loosen the economic ties binding the U.K. to the bloc while ensuring there is no hard border between EU member Ireland and the U.K.'s Northern Ireland.

Barnier said the U.K.'s ideas were fundamentally flawed because they would mean imposing customs checks on the island of Ireland, and because they gave Northern Ireland's regional authority a veto on how to proceed.

"The proposal of the British government as things stand is not something we can accept," he said. Johnson's proposals crossed so many of the EU's red lines, Barnier said, that he would need to fundamentally revamp his proposals — something the British leader has said he will not do.

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said Ireland wanted a Brexit deal but "not at any cost." "It's going to be very difficult to secure an agreement by next week, quite frankly," Varadkar told Irish broadcaster RTE late Tuesday after a 40-minute phone call with Johnson.

"Essentially what the United Kingdom has done is repudiate the deal that we negotiated in good faith with Prime Minister (Theresa) May's government over two years and have sort of put half of that now back on the table and are saying, 'That's a concession.' And, of course, it isn't really," said the Irish leader.

The British government says it still hopes to strike a deal. Johnson and Varadkar are due to hold a private lunch in northwest England on Thursday, while U.K. Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay is scheduled to meet Barnier on Friday.

But Johnson also insists the U.K. will leave the U.K. on Oct. 31, come what may. However, many members of Britain's Parliament are determined to prevent a no-deal Brexit, which economists say would plunge the U.K. economy into recession. Last month they passed a law requiring the government to ask the EU for a delay if no divorce deal has been agreed by Oct. 19.

Anti-Brexit activists fear Johnson will try to wriggle out of that requirement, and asked Scotland's highest court to order the government to comply. Judges at the Court of Session in Edinburgh said Wednesday there was no need to make a ruling yet because the government had promised to obey the law. They said they would revisit the decision if Johnson did not ask for the extension.

Elaine Motion, a lawyer for the claimants, said "the sword of Damocles is over the prime minister's head" and he would have to seek a delay to Brexit.

Lawless reported from London

Irish border residents worry about future if no-deal Brexit

October 09, 2019

GREENORE, Ireland (AP) — The small ferry moves gently across the calm waters of Carlingford Lough, connecting the picturesque hamlet of Greencastle in Northern Ireland with the village of Greenore, a mile and a half away in the Republic of Ireland.

It began sailing a little more than two years ago, saving farmers, commuters and tourists an hour-long drive inland to the nearest bridge. The service is another sign that the border has all but vanished since the Good Friday Agreement was signed in 1998, ending decades of sectarian violence and creating a quiet sense of normality that older generations cherish and younger people may take for granted.

But if the U.K. leaves the European Union on Oct. 31 without a Brexit divorce deal, this local boat could find itself plying an international border. "We don't know what to expect," said Paul O'Sullivan, the ferry company's managing director. "Brexit has resulted in chaos for our company."

With both in the EU, the border barely resonates. As members, both the U.K. and Ireland have to abide by the rules of the club — the free movement of goods, services, capital and people. In a no-deal Brexit, that all goes and the border — the only land border between the U.K. and the EU — will resonate once again.

Little wonder then that it's been the most intractable issue in the Brexit negotiations over the past three or so years since the U.K. voted to leave the EU in June 2016. With little more than three weeks to go before the scheduled Brexit date of Oct. 31, the two sides have failed to agree on a plan to ensure the border remains open, without the checkpoints that were magnets for violence during three decades of conflict. More than 3,500 people died during "The Troubles."

"People in their 40s and 50s and older, we remember The Troubles very well," said 51-year-old Patrick Robinson, a member of Border Communities Against Brexit. "What started off as border troubles exactly like what is going to happen now escalated into what became known effectively as the civil war in Northern Ireland."

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said that the U.K. as a whole, including Northern Ireland which voted to remain in the EU during the referendum, has to leave on the scheduled Brexit date — with or without a deal. Not doing so, he says, would undermine faith in democracy.

That stance has raised concerns that a physical border will return and threaten the fragile peace process in Northern Ireland and the economic opportunities it has created. No one really knows what will happen even though political leaders on all sides keep insisting the border will stay open. People are worried about the long-term impact of the potential changes.

Like many businesses, the Carlingford Lough Ferry has received little guidance: Will farmers carrying hay from the south need to declare their goods? Will there be forms? Customs officers with clipboards? And then there's the question of whether the ferry will be allowed to operate at all.

Back in the days of hard borders, trade between North and South was impeded. It took truck drivers hours to get cleared and cross to the other side. Lush rolling hills were marred by guard towers, soldiers and checkpoints. Criss-crossing the border several times a day was challenging.

The inability to no longer move freely is likely to hurt the smallest operators the most. "The economic shock will be so great that there is no way to mitigate against the risk," warned Daniel Donnelly, a spokesman in Northern Ireland for the Federation of Small Businesses.

Even low tariffs in the event of a no-deal could wipe out the profits that small businesses with low margins make, he added. People here just don't see any point in going back to the past. Piloting the ferry across Carlingford Lough, 31-year-old Shane Horner remembered the border checks and troops that were deployed along the border when he was a child. Crossing was slow and intimidating, he said, but "once that stopped it was grand, you could come and go as you pleased."

Today, farmers from the Republic take the new ferry service to sell silage and hay from the lush fields of County Louth to customers north of the border. Wedding parties from the North use it to cross for events in the medieval Carlingford.

It's a bus service on the water — not a stronghold between nations. "There is a cross-community dimension," said O'Sullivan, who remembers meeting some northerners taking the ferry on their first journey across the border. "If there is a hard Brexit, it almost certainly will have an adverse impact."

Boris Johnson's conciliatory tone on Brexit falls flat on EU

October 03, 2019

LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson sought Thursday to build a coalition at home to back his new Brexit approach even as key European leaders declared that the measures he just proposed fall far short of the concessions needed to forge a deal.

Johnson offered a strikingly more conciliatory tone Thursday than in his previous tempestuous appearances in the House of Commons, arguing that the changes his government just offered on regulating trade between Ireland and Northern Ireland after Brexit represented a significant compromise. Johnson thinks the concessions should resolve the concerns that prompted British lawmakers to reject the previous Brexit deal three times.

“We have made genuine effort to bridge the chasm, to reconcile the apparently irreconcilable and to go the extra mile as time runs short,’’ he said. Britain is set to leave the EU on Oct. 31 unless it seeks an extension and one is granted. Johnson has said he plans to leave on that day with or without a Brexit divorce agreement, yet the British Parliament has passed a law requiring him to seek an extension if no Brexit deal is reached. It’s not yet clear how Johnson can reconcile that directive with his plans to leave the EU.

Economists and Johnson’s own government say a no-deal Brexit could lead to significant trade disruptions for Britain, including shortages of medicine and fresh produce. The new proposals from Johnson’s government, delivered to the EU on Wednesday, focus on maintaining an open border between the U.K.’s Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland - the key sticking point to a Brexit deal. The U.K. proposes to do that by keeping Northern Ireland closely aligned to EU rules for trade in goods, possibly for an extended period.

As the day wore on, however, key EU figures expressed ever more skepticism over the new U.K. proposals. European Union leader Donald Tusk said he was “still unconvinced” about the British proposals to unblock the stalled Brexit negotiations even after having a phone call with Johnson to discuss them.

Irish leader Leo Varadkar told reporters that the new Brexit plans “fall short in a number of aspects.’’ The European parliament supervisory Brexit group issued the most damning verdict, arguing that the new U.K. proposals “do not match even remotely” what is needed for a compromise. After being briefed by EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier, the Brexit group declared the proposals were a step back towards an overall deal. The group unites experts from all major groups in the European Parliament, which must approve any final Brexit deal.

British voters narrowly chose to leave the EU, but the country remains deeply divided over how to do it. Johnson has warned of “grave consequences for trust in our democracy” if Britain doesn’t leave the EU on the scheduled date of Oct. 31.

Johnson reached out Thursday to both the EU and to the House of Commons with a softer tone, despite the fact the proposals were once been billed by his own office as a take-it-or-leave it “final offer.” Johnson sought mightily to lower the temperature of Parliament’s heated Brexit debates in recent weeks _ commenting that he was “disappointed’’ by the tone used by other lawmakers sharply questioning his proposals.

Unrepentant British lawmakers attacked the new Brexit plan and Johnson, accusing him of deliberately proposing a deal he knows won’t work. The Scottish National Party’s parliamentary leader, Ian Blackford, said Johnson's proposals simply push the country closer to a no-deal Brexit by offering a plan that the EU is likely to reject.

“These proposals are unacceptable. They are unworkable. They are undeliverable. And it's all about blaming someone else _ in this case, the European Union when the plan was rejected,’’ Blackford said. “Mr. Speaker, it is a plan designed to fail, but of course, the prime minister knows that. By his own desire, this take-it-or-leave-it threat is yet another push towards a catastrophic no-deal Brexit."

Opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn said no Labor Party lawmaker can back Johnson’s new Brexit plan, calling it just a “rehashed version” of previously rejected proposals. The proposal would create “an all-island regulatory zone on the island of Ireland, covering all goods including agrifood.” That would keep Northern Ireland in a regulatory zone with the EU for food, agricultural and industrial products, removing the need for border checks.

The U.K. proposal doesn’t put a time limit on that status, although it would have to be renewed every four years by the Northern Ireland Assembly. However, that assembly has been suspended for more than two years by a dispute between the main Unionist and Nationalist power-sharing parties.

Under the new U.K. plan, there would still need to be customs checks, but Johnson suggested they could be carried out away from the border at “other points on the supply chain.”

Casert reported from Brussels. Gregory Katz in London and Jan M. Olsen in Copenhagen contributed.

Boris Johnson: UK is offering Brexit 'compromise' to EU

October 02, 2019

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the U.K. will offer the European Union a proposed Brexit deal on Wednesday that represents a compromise for both sides, as he urged the bloc to meet Britain halfway and allow for the country's orderly departure after years of wrangling.

Johnson's speech to Conservative Party members at their annual conference had been billed by his office as a take-it-or-leave-it "final offer" to the EU. Yet as delivered, it was more like a plea to the bloc, and to Britons, to end more than three years of acrimonious wrangling over the terms of the U.K.'s exit from the EU.

"Let's get Brexit done," was the repeated refrain to delegates at the conference in Manchester, northwest England. British voters in 2016 narrowly chose to leave the EU but the country remains deeply divided over how to do it. In his speech, Johnson said people who voted for Brexit had "are beginning to feel that they are being taken for fools."

"They are beginning to suspect that there are forces in this country that simply don't want Brexit delivered at all," he said in the nationally televised speech. "And if they turn out to be right in that suspicion, then I believe there will be grave consequences for trust in our democracy."

With Britain's delayed departure from the bloc due to take place on Oct. 31, Johnson said the government would send "constructive and reasonable proposals" to the EU later Wednesday. He said the plan was "a compromise by the U.K. And I hope very much that our friends understand that and compromise in their turn."

But the plans are likely to face deep skepticism from EU leaders, who doubt the U.K. has a workable proposal to avoid checks on goods or people crossing the border between EU member Ireland and the U.K.'s Northern Ireland after Brexit — the key sticking point to a deal.

Johnson insisted that "we will under no circumstances have checks at or near the border in Northern Ireland." A Brexit agreement between the EU and Johnson's predecessor, Theresa May, was rejected three times by the U.K. Parliament, largely because of opposition to the "backstop," an insurance policy designed to ensure there is no return to customs posts or other infrastructure on the Irish border.

An open border underpins both the local economy and Northern Ireland's peace process. But Johnson and other British Brexit supporters oppose the backstop because it would keep the U.K. tightly bound to EU trade rules in order to avoid customs checks — limiting the country's ability to strike new trade deals around the world.

Johnson said the government's proposal involved maintaining "the existing regulatory arrangements for farmers and businesses on both sides of the border." That could keep Northern Ireland in a regulatory zone with the EU for food, agricultural and industrial products, removing the need for checks, but the EU will carefully study the details.

Britain has previously suggested such an arrangement could have a time limit — something the EU has rejected. The EU said it would give the British proposal serious legal vetting before saying whether it is worthy of being a basis for future talks on the U.K.'s departure.

The European Commission said in a statement that "once received, we will examine (the UK text) objectively & in light of well-known criteria," which includes whether it prevents a hard border on the island of Ireland, preserves cooperation between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland and respects the EU rules on trade across borders.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker is to speak with Johnson in the afternoon and technical talks among both sides are planned. Johnson has vowed to leave on Oct. 31 with or without a Brexit deal.

He repeated his contention that the U.K. can handle any bumps that come from tumbling out of the bloc without a deal, which would mean the instant imposition of customs checks and other barriers between Britain and the EU, its biggest trading partner.

A no-deal Brexit is "not an outcome we want ...(but) it is an outcome for which we are ready," he said in his speech. But the U.K. government and businesses both say the disruptions would be substantial, with the flow of goods coming into Britain through the major Channel port of Dover cut in half.

Many lawmakers want to prevent a no-deal exit, and have passed a law that compels the government to seek a delay to Brexit if it can't get an agreement with the EU by Oct. 19. Johnson says he won't do that — although he also insists he will obey the law. He has not explained how doing both those things will be possible.

Raf Casert in Brussels contributed.

Moment of truth: UK to submit 'final offer' for Brexit deal

October 01, 2019

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — After months of Brexit stalemate, Britain is finally about to play its hand, setting out Prime Minister Boris Johnson's "final offer" for a last-minute divorce deal with the European Union.

It's a crucial moment for the embattled leader, who is faced with a skeptical EU, a divided U.K. and a supportive but worried Conservative Party. The party that chose Johnson as its leader in July is mostly — but not unanimously — rallying behind a politician whose drive and energy have been stained by allegations of improper behavior and divisive political tactics.

The government said Johnson would send the formal proposals to EU leaders in Brussels on Wednesday after he rallies his party with a conference speech in Manchester, northwest England. Johnson's office said the prime minister will call the proposals a "fair and reasonable compromise" but also a final offer, and say that if the EU does not agree to discuss it, Britain would refuse to negotiate further.

"Let's get Brexit done -- we can, we must and we will," he planned to say. Advance extracts of Johnson's speech released by his office did not reveal the contents of the proposed deal, leaving an impatient EU to wait a little longer.

Britain is due to leave the 28-nation bloc in just 30 days, and EU leaders are frustrated with the government's failure thus far to set out detailed plans for maintaining an open border between the U.K.'s Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland — the key sticking point to a deal.

Johnson says Britain will leave the EU on the scheduled Oct. 31 date with or without a deal, despite a law passed by Parliament that compels the government to seek a delay to Brexit if it can't get a deal by Oct. 19.

A Brexit agreement between the EU and his predecessor, Theresa May, was rejected three times by the U.K. Parliament, largely because of opposition to the "backstop," an insurance policy designed to ensure there is no return to customs posts or other infrastructure on the Irish border.

An open border underpins both the local economy and Northern Ireland's peace process. But British Brexit supporters oppose the backstop because it would keep the U.K. tightly bound to EU trade rules in order to avoid customs checks — limiting the country's ability to strike new trade deals around the world.

So far, the U.K. has floated the idea of a common area for livestock and agricultural products, plus largely untested "technological solutions" as a replacement for the backstop. The EU says that is inadequate. Ireland has already rejected an idea raised in preliminary U.K. proposals for customs posts five to 10 miles (eight to 16 kilometers) away from the border.

Johnson said Britain would not propose that idea, but added that it was a "reality" that some checks would be needed to create a "single customs territory" for the U.K. He said checks could be conducted away from the border, possibly at either end of a shipment's journey.

"That I don't think will be onerous, it certainly wouldn't involve infrastructure," he told Sky News. That still falls short of the seamless border that exists today. Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said that under May, the U.K. government "promised no hard border or associated controls or checks and we expect the British government to honor that promise."

"People here don't want a customs border between north and south and no British government should seek to impose customs posts against the will of the people on the island of Ireland," he said in the Irish parliament.

Johnson insists he wants to strike a deal with the EU to replace May's rejected Brexit agreement. He also says the U.K. can handle any bumps that come from tumbling out of the bloc without a deal, which would mean the instant imposition of customs checks and other barriers between Britain and the EU, its biggest trading partner.

But the U.K. government and businesses say the disruptions would be substantial. Trade Minister George Freeman told delegates at the Conservative conference that "if we leave without a deal, it's going to be very bumpy." He said the flow of trade across the Channel between the English port of Dover and the French port of Calais — the U.K.'s most important trade route — could be cut in half as customs and vehicle checks were introduced.

At the annual conference, Johnson is attempting to energize his party with all the bold policies he says the government will deliver once the U.K. manages to "Get Brexit Done" — from more money for police, roads and housing to a big hike in the minimum wage. Tuesday's big theme, law and order, was slightly undermined when a Conservative lawmaker was ejected from the conference over an altercation that saw police swoop on a convention center lounge.

The costly policy promises, which break with a decade of deficit-slashing austerity by Johnson's Conservative predecessors, are also designed to appeal to voters in a national election that looks likely to be called within weeks.

But he is dogged by allegations that he handed out perks to a female friend's business while he was mayor of London and groped the thigh of a female journalist at a lunch two decades ago. Johnson denies impropriety in both cases — though said Tuesday that he couldn't remember the lunch in question.

He also suggested the allegations against him might motivated by political opponents trying "to knock the government off course." Johnson is popular with many Conservative members, who welcome his energy and optimism after three years of Brexit gridlock under May. Some, though, have qualms about his personal conduct and his divisive tactics, which include using words like "surrender" and "betrayal" about opponents of Brexit.

David Gauke — a former Cabinet minister kicked out of the party group in Parliament for voting against the government over Brexit — said he feared that under Johnson, the Tories were becoming "a much more aggressive, much more confrontational, much more divisive party."

"We are no longer the party of Churchill. We are more the party of Trump," he said. But many conference delegates were supportive. Seena Shah, 30, who has been chosen as a Conservative election candidate in London, said she was pro-Brexit, socially liberal and comfortable with Johnson as leader.

"Boris, when he walks into a room, it fills with energy," she said. "He is a fantastic leader. We need somebody who is going to keep the optimism up, and he is doing that very well."

UK's Boris Johnson defends his fraught Brexit language

September 27, 2019

LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday rebuffed allegations that he was inciting violence by accusing his Brexit opponents of "surrender" and "betrayal," saying the only way to calm the simmering tensions was to stop delaying and leave the European Union.

Johnson, a Conservative, took power two months ago with a "do-or-die" promise that Britain will leave the EU on the scheduled date of Oct. 31, even if there is no divorce deal to cushion the economic consequences.

With talks between the U.K. and the EU showing little sign of progress, Johnson's foes in Parliament are determined to avoid a no-deal exit. Economists say leaving without an agreement would disrupt trade with the EU, plunge the country into recession and — according to Britain's government watchdog — potentially interrupt the supply of essential medicines for patients in Britain.

During raucous, ill-tempered parliamentary debates this week, Johnson said postponing the country's departure would "betray" the people, referred to an opposition law ordering a Brexit delay as the "Surrender Act" and brushed off concerns that his forceful language might endanger legislators as "humbug."

Opponents said Johnson's language could incite violence. But he said the country's social tensions were being caused by Britain's failure to leave the EU more than three years after voting in a referendum to do so.

"Once you do that, then so much of the heat and the anxiety will come out of the debate," Johnson said Friday as he visited a hospital — part of unofficial campaigning for an election that looks set to come soon. "Get it done and then we will all be able to move on."

In Parliament, Johnson was repeatedly reminded that a Labor lawmaker, Jo Cox, was stabbed and shot to death a week before the 2016 Brexit referendum by a far-right attacker shouting "Death to traitors!" Many British lawmakers say they routinely receive death threats now.

On Friday, a 36-year-old man, Michael Roby, was charged with a public order offense after a disturbance outside the office of Labor lawmaker Jess Phillips, an outspoken critic of Johnson. She said her staff had to be locked inside when a man kicked the door and tried to smash the windows on Thursday.

Amber Rudd, who served in Johnson's Conservative Cabinet until she quit three weeks ago, said she was "disappointed and stunned" by Johnson's dismissal of their concerns. She told the Evening Standard newspaper that the incendiary language used by Johnson and his aides "does incite violence."

Johnson said that all threats to politicians were "absolutely appalling," but defended his use of the term "Surrender Act." "The use of that kind of metaphor has been going on for hundreds of years," he said.

Johnson argues that he is safeguarding the will of the public against the interests of the political establishment, which wants to remain in the EU. In truth, the British public and its politicians are both bitterly divided over how, or even whether, to leave the 28-nation bloc.

Church of England bishops appealed for calm amid the growing acrimony. "We should speak to others with respect," the bishops said in a statement. "And we should also listen ... We should not denigrate, patronize or ignore the honest views of fellow citizens, but seek to respect their opinions, their participation in society, and their votes."

Johnson's divisive senior adviser Dominic Cummings also dismissed concerns that politicians' heated rhetoric was polarizing society, and said the government's plan to deliver Brexit on Oct. 31, come what may, would succeed.

"We are going to leave and we are going to win," he said. Meanwhile, the National Audit Office said in a report Friday there was still a "significant amount" of work to do to make sure Britain has enough medical drugs if it leaves the EU on Oct. 31 without a divorce deal.

It said additional shipping capacity chartered by the government might not be operational until the end of November, a month after the Brexit deadline. Of the more than 12,300 medicines licensed in the U.K., about 7,000 arrive from or via the EU, mostly across the English Channel.

Alan Boyd of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges said people with epilepsy were a particular concern in the event of any drug shortages, noting that "one seizure can have a life-changing impact." Johnson insists he wants to strike a deal, but is demanding significant changes to the withdrawal agreement negotiated by his predecessor, Theresa May. That deal was rejected three times by Britain's Parliament.

Talks continued Friday with a meeting between U.K. Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay and EU negotiator Michel Barnier in Brussels. The EU, however, says it is still waiting for concrete proposals from Britain on maintaining an open border between the U.K.'s Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland — the key sticking point.

Barnier said after the meeting that "it is essential that there is a fully operational solution in the Withdrawal Agreement to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland." Barclay said a Brexit agreement was possible, but "I think we are coming to a moment of truth in these negotiations."

"We will see if there is political will on both sides," he said. Britain says it doesn't want to submit detailed proposals too early, in case they leak, but plans to do so before an EU summit on Oct. 17-18.

EU Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker said a no-deal Brexit would be a "catastrophe" for both the U.K. and Europe — but if it happened, "the responsibility for this lies on the British side alone." Johnson's political opponents have passed a law compelling the government to ask the EU for a delay to the U.K.'s exit if no deal has been struck by late October. Johnson is adamant he won't do that — but also says he will comply with the law.

A former Conservative prime minister, John Major, said he feared the government would use constitutional trickery to get around the law by suspending it until after the Oct. 31 Brexit deadline. International Development Secretary Alok Sharma refused to say whether the Cabinet had discussed such a tactic.

"We are absolutely going to comply with the law, we are working incredibly hard to get a deal and we will be leaving on Oct. 31," he said.

Maria Cheng in London, Raf Casert in Brussels and Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report.

EU lawmakers vote to approve Brexit delay if UK requests one

September 18, 2019

STRASBOURG, France (AP) — European Parliament lawmakers on Wednesday voted overwhelmingly in favor of another Brexit delay if Britain requests one and certain conditions are met, after European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker told the chamber that a no-deal scenario remains "very real."

After a three-hour debate, the lawmakers adopted a non-binding resolution supporting another extension to the Brexit deadline. Lawmakers voted 544-126 with 38 abstentions in Strasbourg. Despite claims from British Prime Minister Boris Johnson that the U.K. will leave on the scheduled Oct. 31 date with or without a withdrawal agreement, EU leaders are expected to discuss the possibility of another postponement at a two-day summit in Brussels next month if no progress toward a deal has been made by then.

Britain's departure from the 28-nation bloc has already been delayed twice. EU lawmakers put conditions in the resolution, saying they would only support an extension if it was justified by a specific purpose such as "avoiding a no-deal departure, holding general elections or a referendum, revoking Article 50 (the procedure that triggered the Brexit process), or approving the (current) withdrawal agreement."

Speaking at the parliament before the vote, Juncker, who met with Johnson on Monday, said a no-deal Brexit "might be the choice of the U.K., but it will never be ours." The main sticking point over a Brexit deal is the Irish border backstop, which would require Britain to respect EU trade and customs rules in order to avoid a hard border between EU member Ireland and the U.K.'s Northern Ireland until a better solution is found.

In their resolution, EU lawmakers also pledged to reject any deal without a backstop and insisted Britain will be "solely responsible for a no-deal departure." The European Parliament must endorse any Brexit deal for it to be implemented.

"I have no sentimental attachment to the backstop," Juncker said, adding, however, that he remains committed to the purpose it serves, which is to prevent border structures that could be detrimental to peace in Northern Ireland.

"That is why I called on the British prime minister to come forward with concrete proposals, operational and in writing on all alternatives that would allow us to reach these objectives," Juncker said.

EU leaders have made clear that any amendment to the current proposed divorce deal should preserve the bloc's single market and uphold the Good Friday peace agreement that ended decades of conflict in Northern Ireland.

Despite his declaration that Britain will leave on Oct. 31 "do or die," Johnson insists he can strike a revised divorce deal with the bloc in time for an orderly departure. European leaders are skeptical of that declaration.

"I asked the British prime minister to specify the alternative arrangements that he could envisage," Juncker said. "As long as such proposals are not made, I cannot tell you — while looking you straight in the eye — that progress is being made."

The Brexit agreement made with the EU by Johnson's predecessor, Theresa May, was rejected three times by Britain's Parliament, prompting May to resign and the fiercely pro-Brexit Johnson to come to power in July.

Again warning against the harmful consequences of a no-deal Brexit, EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier said during the debate he wants to keep working "night and day" in order to find a satisfying deal for both parties and urged Johnson and his team to make concrete proposals.

Spelling out the need for the backstop, Barnier said if Britain leaves without any agreement at all, several major problems will still have to be resolved, including the future of citizens hit by Brexit, peace in Northern Ireland and the protection of the EU's single market and the Irish economy.

"None of these questions disappears," Barnier said Wednesday, insisting that the challenges must not be underestimated. "We need legally operative solutions in the withdrawal agreement to respond precisely to each problem — to address each risk — that Brexit creates."

"Some three years after the British referendum, it's not a question of pretending to negotiate. It's our responsibility to continue this process with determination and sincerity," Barnier told the European lawmakers.

In London, the British government was back at the country's Supreme Court, arguing that Johnson's decision to suspend Parliament just weeks before the country is set to leave the European Union was neither improper nor illegal.

The government's opponents argue that Johnson illegally shut down Parliament just weeks before the scheduled Brexit date for the "improper purpose" of dodging lawmakers' legitimate scrutiny of his Brexit plans. They also say Johnson misled Queen Elizabeth II, whose approval was needed for the shutdown.

Government lawyer James Eadie argued that a lower court was right to rule that Johnson's suspension of Parliament was a matter of "high policy" and politics, not law. Eadie called the decision to shut down Parliament "inherently and fundamentally political in nature." He said if the court intervened it would violate the "fundamental constitutional principle" of the separation of powers between courts and the government.

Back in Strasbourg, the European Parliament's top Brexit official attacked Johnson's decision to prorogue Parliament. Noting that Eurosceptic politicians often criticize the EU for being undemocratic, Guy Verhofstadt said EU leaders "can do a lot of things, but at least they cannot close the doors of our house. That is not possible."

Samuel Petrequin reported from Brussels. Lorne Cook in Brussels and Jill Lawless in London contributed.

Johnson denies lying to queen, wins Brexit court case

September 12, 2019

LONDON (AP) — The British government insisted Thursday that its forecast of food and medicine shortages, gridlock at ports and riots in the streets after a no-deal Brexit is an avoidable worst-case scenario, as Prime Minister Boris Johnson denied misleading Queen Elizabeth II about his reasons for suspending Parliament just weeks before the country is due to leave the European Union.

In better news for the embattled British leader, a Belfast court rejected claims that the Conservative government's Brexit strategy should be ruled illegal because it risked undermining Northern Ireland's peace process.

Johnson took office in July vowing to get Brexit done on the scheduled Oct. 31 date, even if there is not a divorce deal to smooth the way. But many lawmakers, economists and businesses fear a no-deal Brexit would be economically devastating and are fighting him every step of the way.

This week, Parliament forced the government to publish its official assessment of the impact of leaving the EU without a withdrawal agreement. The six-page classified document, dated Aug. 2, said customs checks meant the number of trucks crossing the main freight route between Calais and Dover would drop by between 40% and 60% within a day of a no-deal Brexit, with disruptions lasting up to three months. The supply of certain types of fresh foods and essential medicines would decrease, prices would go up and the poor would be hit hardest, it said.

The paper also described major disruptions for travelers between Britain and the EU and uncertainty for U.K. citizens living in Europe, and it said attempts to maintain an open border between Ireland and Northern Ireland would probably fail. It also said a no-deal exit could trigger major protests and even riots.

Johnson insisted the bleak scenario was "not where we intend to end up." "This is a worst-case scenario which civil servants obviously have to prepare for, but in the last few months, and particularly in the 50 days since I've been prime minister, we've been massively accelerating our preparations," he said.

Opposition politicians said the "Operation Yellowhammer" document — the government's code name for its Brexit preparations — proved that Johnson is reckless to consider leaving the bloc without a deal.

Former Attorney General Dominic Grieve said it was extraordinary that a U.K. government "is content on inflicting on the British public the level of disruption which is set out in the Yellowhammer papers."

Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said the scenario was a "planning assumption" and would only come true if the government did nothing to offset it. "We are spending the money on doing lots of things to mitigate those assumptions," he told the BBC.

The government said it would publish an updated version of the assessment soon that would show how much progress had been made. The government refused to comply with another part of Parliament's demand — that it hand over email and texts among officials and aides discussing the government's decision to suspend Parliament in the run-up to the Brexit deadline. Michael Gove, the minister in charge of Brexit planning, said the request was inappropriate and disproportionate.

The order to release the Yellowhammer document was one of a series of blows to the government by opposition lawmakers and rebel Conservatives. They also passed a law that orders the government to seek a three-month delay to Brexit if no agreement has been reached by late October, and rejected Johnson's call for a snap general election.

After suffering six defeats in the House of Commons in as many days, Johnson suspended Parliament for five weeks until Oct. 14, sparking outrage among legislators and several legal challenges. The U.K. Supreme Court is set to consider next week whether the shutdown should be reversed, after conflicting rulings in lower courts.

Last week, the High Court in London said the decision was inherently political and "not a matter for the courts." But Scotland's highest civil court ruled Wednesday that the shutdown was illegal "because it had the purpose of stymieing Parliament."

Johnson insists he suspended Parliament so that he can launch a fresh domestic agenda at a new session next month. He said he had "absolutely not" misled the queen — whose formal approval was needed to suspend Parliament — about his motives. Critics say Johnson must resign if it turns out he lied to the monarch, who is Britain's head of state and is bound to act on the advice of her prime ministers.

In Northern Ireland, claimants had argued that a no-deal Brexit would undermine agreements between the British and Irish governments that were struck during the peace process. A no-deal Brexit could lead to the return of a hard border between the U.K.'s Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland. An open border is crucial to the regional economy and underpins the peace process that ended decades of sectarian violence in Northern Ireland.

Judge Bernard McCloskey ruled that the "claim and counterclaim, assertion and counter-assertion, allegation and denial, blow and counter-blow" of the raging Brexit arguments belonged in the world of politics, not law.

"Virtually all of the assembled evidence belongs to the world of politics, both national and supra-national," he said. If the claimants appeal the ruling, the case could join the two other legal challenges to Johnson's Brexit plans before the Supreme Court next week.

Johnson said Thursday he was "working very hard" to strike a new deal with the bloc after the agreement made by his predecessor Theresa May was rejected three times by Britain's Parliament. Johnson's envoy David Frost has been holding talks in Brussels this week but no breakthrough has been made, and the EU says it is still waiting for firm proposals from the U.K.

"The U.K. hasn't proposed any alternatives and anything that's been legally credible and workable," said European Parliament President David Sassoli. The bloc's chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, told reporters that "we are still ready to examine objectively any concrete and legally operational proposals from the U.K."

Associated Press writer Lorne Cook in Brussels contributed.

Britain's Brexit heartland seethes at delay and 'betrayal'

September 09, 2019

BOSTON, England (AP) — Like its American namesake, the English town of Boston has a reputation for rebellion. Three years ago, almost 76% of voters in this eastern England town opted, against the government's advice, to leave the European Union, the highest pro-Brexit vote in the U.K. With Britain's departure delayed and politicians deadlocked, Bostonians now feel frustration, fatigue and even fury. And they warn Prime Minister Boris Johnson that he will be out of a job if he breaks his vow that Britain will leave the EU on Oct. 31, come what may.

"It's a shambles," retired truck driver Mick Phoenix said. "It's disgusting and, to be frank, verging on treason. They're going against the will of the people." Julia Barber, shopping at the town's open-air market, is also frustrated with lawmakers who voted last week to block Johnson's bid to leave the EU without a deal, and rejected the prime minister's call for a snap election.

"We can't get anywhere. They are just blocking everything," she said. "The whole country's in limbo." Britain as a whole is split down the middle over Brexit . But support for leaving the EU — and ending European citizens' automatic right to settle in the U.K. — remains strong in Boston, where rapid change from immigration has fueled resentment toward the 28-nation bloc.

Since the EU expanded eastwards in 2004, the historic market town has been transformed by thousands of immigrants from Poland, Lithuania and other ex-Communist countries who came to pick cauliflowers, broccoli and potatoes in the fertile fields around Boston or work in the region's food factories.

The population of Boston, 120 miles (200 kilometers) north of London, has grown by a fifth since 2001, to about 68,000. The sturdy little town that provided some of America's first Puritan settlers has become a collage of cultures. Traders sell local produce at an open-air market in the shadow of a medieval church, around the corner from a street of Eastern European supermarkets, travel agents and information centers.

Some long-term residents feel unsettled by the change. Unemployment in Boston is below the national average, but so are wages, and some locals blame the ready supply of migrant labor for keeping salaries low. Population growth — and years of public-spending cuts by the Conservative-led British government — have stretched schools, hospitals and housing. It's common to hear long-settled residents accuse the newcomers of drunkenness and bad behavior.

Nigel Welton, the Conservative deputy leader of the town council, thinks immigration has been good for Boston, and says migrants have sometimes been scapegoated for local problems. But he says "a lot of people have seen too much change, too quickly."

"We're a small, rural market town, and we've recently started to have city problems," he said. "When local people can't get jobs, local people can't get to see their doctor, local people can't get proper housing, and it's because of the amount of immigration without services, then that's going to upset the local community."

The concerns are shared by Anton Dani, Boston's first-ever immigrant mayor. Dani, who became civic leader in May, was born in Morocco, raised in France, and runs Cafe de Paris, a Gallic corner of Boston complete with pictures of the late French singer Charles Aznavour on the walls.

"This small town can't take everything," Dani said. "The infrastructure has been hit so hard that the people, their reaction — which is normal — has been delivering Brexit. If I look at it as a migrant, I do understand that kind of position."

Not all "leave" supporters in Boston are motivated by immigration. Simon Brigden, who is married to a Polish woman, said he doesn't like the bureaucratic EU, but thinks European citizens are an asset.

"I didn't vote (to leave) because of immigration," said Brigden, who employs Poles and Lithuanians in his construction business. "I don't want to get rid of them. "They're obviously putting money into the local area as well," Brigden said after attending a Polish-language Mass with his family at St. Mary's Church. "They're filling the schools. They're filling the church up."

Some Brexit supporters acknowledge that leaving the EU won't solve all of Boston's problems. It may even make them worse. Farmers' groups say it is already getting harder to attract European workers, and the agriculture sector will face labor shortages if migration falls.

"When people were voting, they weren't aware what they were doing," said Adam Altynksi, a Polish parcel delivery driver who has lived in Britain for 14 years. "Because it's going to affect them, that choice. It's going to be harder times. The economy will be in a much more difficult situation."

As it stands, Britain is set to crash out of the EU on Oct. 31 without a divorce deal to cushion the economic shock. Most economists say a no-deal Brexit will disrupt trade between Britain and the bloc and plunge the U.K. into recession. The pound, which has lost more than 15% of its value since the 2016 referendum, is likely to fall further. Food prices are set to rise and medicines could run short.

Many Brexit supporters believe the long-term benefits of an independent trade policy will outweigh any short-term pain. And some simply don't care about the economic cost. Anthony Henson, a retired IT and finance worker from the nearby town of Sleaford, said the vote for Brexit was about independence, not economics.

"It's our country: We ought to be able to determine how we work together with other countries and how we take our country forward," he said. "Whether it makes us richer or poorer is neither here nor there."

Boston's febrile Brexit atmosphere leaves Matt Warman, the area's member of Parliament, with a balancing act. The Conservative lawmaker spends a lot of time reassuring European constituents that Britain wants them to stay after Brexit, but also understands concerns about the rapid changes immigration has brought to the town.

He voted for former Prime Minister Theresa May's EU divorce deal — which was rejected three times by Parliament — but now agrees with Johnson that a no-deal Brexit would be better than remaining a member of the EU.

"What I hear from constituents is 'Get on with it,'" Warman said. "Respecting the result is something that trumps the potential short-term trauma of a no-deal." The jobs of both Warman and his prime minister depend on delivering Brexit soon. With Parliament and the government deadlocked, Britain is almost certain to face a snap election within months. Pro-EU voters are already flocking to opposition parties, and if Johnson doesn't deliver on his promise to leave the EU on Oct. 31 "do or die," the Conservatives could lose towns like Boston to the single-issue Brexit Party, led by veteran euroskeptic politician Nigel Farage.

"Saturday the 31st of October, the prime minister has said 'Do or die.' That's what people believe. They're fully behind him," Welton said. "And if he doesn't deliver it, then people are going to be extremely upset in this town."

Associated Press senior producer Jeffrey Schaeffer contributed to this story.

Parliament's suspension before Brexit protested across UK

August 31, 2019

LONDON (AP) — Prime Minister Boris Johnson's provocative decision to suspend the British Parliament for a time before the country's deadline for leaving the European Union came under fire Saturday in London and other cities where protesters took to the streets.

The demonstrations were called ahead of what is expected to be a pitched debate in Parliament this week as Johnson's opponents scramble to try to pass legislation that would block him from carrying out Brexit on Oct. 31 without an approved withdrawal agreement.

An estimated 10,000 people gathered in central London, while others protested in in Belfast, York and others cities to show determination to block a "no deal" Brexit. Protesters in London briefly blocked traffic on a downtown bridge and in Trafalgar Square.

Labor Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, who had urged his supporters to come out in large numbers, told thousands of people at a rally in Glasgow, Scotland that the message to Johnson was simple: "No way. It's our Parliament."

Corbyn said Johnson, who became prime minister through a vote of Conservative Party members instead of a general election, does not have a mandate for shutting down Parliament or for leaving the EU without a deal in place. Many economists and academics think a no-deal Brexit would lead Britain into a prolonged recession.

"It's not on, and we're not having it," Corbyn said. Johnson's decision to shutter Parliament for several weeks when a debate about Brexit plans had been expected galvanized angry crowds of protesters on Saturday.

Organizers said protests were held in more than 30 locations throughout England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. In London, they chanted: "Boris Johnson, shame on you." Some carried signs saying: "Stop the Coup" in reference to what they say is a move that threatens democracy.

The protests were organized by the anti-Brexit group Another Europe Is Possible and by Momentum, which is allied with the opposition Labor Party. The group is urging its membership to "occupy bridges and blockade roads."

In Exeter in western England, pharmacist Bridie Walton, 55, said she was attending the first demonstration of her life. "Nobody voted for a dictatorship," she said, condemning Johnson's suspension of Parliament. "These are the actions of a man who is afraid his arguments will not stand scrutiny."

Johnson's plan is also being opposed by some in Parliament who plan to introduce legislation this week to try to prevent a disorderly departure from the European Union. Their task will be made more difficult if Johnson's plan to shut Parliament for part of the time period before the Oct. 31 Brexit deadline is carried out.

Johnson's supporters may well be able to delay any proposed legislation from being enacted in time. Tactics could include introducing a variety of amendments that would have to be debated, or the use of filibusters to stall the process.

The shutdown of Parliament is also being challenged in three separate court cases scheduled to be heard next week. Former Prime Minister John Major has joined one of the lawsuits, raising the likelihood that he will argue in court that the current prime minister, a fellow member of the Conservative Party, is acting improperly by shutting Parliament.

Johnson, who helped lead the successful Brexit referendum campaign, says his government is actively pursuing a new deal with EU leaders and claims opposition to his policy will make it harder to wring concessions from Europe.

UK PM Boris Johnson faces rising Brexit strategy criticism

August 19, 2019

LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is facing rising criticism of his Brexit strategy at home as he increases pressure on the European Union to re-open negotiations ahead of key meetings with his French and German counterparts later this week.

The prime minister's office said Monday that the right of EU citizens to work in the U.K. without restrictions would end on Nov. 1 if Britain leaves the bloc without a Brexit deal. British government officials also rejected demands by lawmakers for Johnson to recall Parliament from its summer recess so that lawmakers can scrutinize the prime minister's Brexit strategy.

The developments came a day after a leaked report showed that the British government is preparing for widespread shortages of food, fuel and medicines in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Since taking office last month, Johnson has pledged Britain will leave the EU on Oct. 31 with or without a deal, saying the only way to force European officials to negotiate is to make sure that leaving without an agreement is a real possibility.

"Now, of course, our friends and partners on the other side of the Channel are showing a little bit of reluctance at the moment to change their position," Johnson told Sky News on Monday. "That's fine - I'm confident that they will - but in the meantime we have to get ready for a no-deal outcome."

Johnson plans to meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday in Berlin and French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday in Paris, before traveling to a summit of G-7 leaders this weekend in Biarritz, France.

Meanwhile, more than 100 British lawmakers have signed a letter asking Johnson to recall Parliament because of concerns about his Brexit strategy. Caroline Lucas, the Green Party's only member of Parliament, said lawmakers should return to Westminster because of the "impending national emergency" the country is facing.

"MPs should be in Parliament holding an increasingly reckless prime minister to account," Lucas told the BBC. "He's putting his foot on the accelerator, driving the country off the cliff edge as if he had a huge mandate and overwhelming support. Well, he has no mandate for this."

Johnson's government has a one-seat majority in the House of Commons and he hasn't faced a national election as party leader. Johnson became prime minister after the Conservative Party selected him as its leader. He replaced Theresa May, who stepped down after Parliament three times rejected the Brexit deal she had negotiated with the EU.

Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the opposition Labor Party, vowed Monday to do "everything necessary" to prevent the U.K. from leaving the EU without a deal. This includes calling a no-confidence vote in Johnson's government and, if it succeeds, fighting the general election with a pledge to hold a second public vote on Brexit, Corbyn said in a speech in Northamptonshire. The public vote would include options on both sides of the question, including the possibility of remaining in the EU.

"If MPs are serious about stopping a no-deal crash out, then they will vote down this reckless government," Corbyn said. "And it falls to the leader of the opposition to make sure no-deal does not happen and the people decide their own future."

Johnson and Corbyn are fighting for support in an increasingly fractious country where Brexit cuts across traditional party lines. After a 2016 referendum in which the public voted to leave the EU, May spent more than two years negotiating a Brexit divorce agreement with the bloc. It was repeatedly rejected by Parliament, primarily because of concerns about keeping an open border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

Johnson wants to remove the Brexit agreement's so-called backstop clause, an insurance policy that could force Britain to remain part of the European customs union indefinitely to prevent the reintroduction of checks along the Irish border.

Macron and other EU leaders insist the bloc should not renegotiate the hard-fought Brexit agreement.

Russian cargo ship docks with space station

April 25, 2020

MOSCOW (AP) — An unmanned Russian cargo capsule docked with the International Space Station, bringing more than 2 tons of supplies to the three-person crew. The Progress spacecraft docked at 0512 GMT Saturday, about 3 1/2 hours after blasting off from Russia’s Baikonur launch complex in Kazakhstan.

The ship carried fuel, water, food, medicine and other supplies. There are three astronauts aboard the space station: Russia’s Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner, and Chris Cassidy of the United States.

Polish government gets pushback on postal presidential vote

April 25, 2020

WARSAW (AP) — The Polish government’s determination to move forward with a scheduled presidential election next month by making it an all-postal vote has sparked anxiety and anger amid the coronavirus pandemic, with critics slamming the plan as a threat to the health of both the public and Poland's democracy.

Health experts say that voting by mail is much safer than doing it in person at polling stations during the pandemic. But with medical research ongoing, there is worry that mailed ballots may carry lingering traces of the virus that could potentially infect voters, postal workers and election officials tallying the returns.

Political concerns are probably even bigger than fears about safety in the run-up to Poland's May 10 election. Critics have voiced suspicions that the conservative ruling party insisted on holding the presidential vote because its candidate is strongly favored to win now but could lose support during a post-pandemic economic downturn.

The leader of Poland’s main opposition party, Civic Platform president Borys Budka, said “the health and life of Poles” are at stake in whether the election takes place and “no responsible person would call for participation in such a vote.”

With little time for public agencies to prepare, it's unclear if the switch to by-mail voting is legal or how the government intends to pull off a secure election that involves delivering ballot materials to around 30 million people and getting them back for counting.

If no candidate secures a majority, the already stretched postal service and election officials would need to repeat the process for a presidential runoff two weeks later. The head of the State Electoral Commission wrote on Twitter that the validity of an election organized in a rushed way could be called into question.

Civic Platform is calling for the election to be postponed by a year. A faction inside the government proposed extending the term of incumbent President Andrzej Duda by two years but not allowing him to run for reelection in 2022.

The ruling Law and Justice party says the date of the election is dictated by the Polish Constitution and that going ahead with the mail-in voting would be a democratic victory that poses no health risk. Duda and party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski, who is regarded as the driving force behind the government, have argued their political opponents want a delay because they know they are going to lose the presidential race.

“People always blame the authorities under such circumstances,” Kaczynski recently said on state broadcaster Polish Radio 1. “Today, the opposition probably sees its chances as very small but believes that a year from now the situation will be different.”

The political opposition argues that holding the election as planned would be undemocratic because Duda's challengers are limited to campaigning online and can't meet with voters at rallies due to social distancing measures in place to curb the spread of the virus.

Politicians from Poland's opposition parties have pointed out that Russian President Vladimir Putin even postponed a referendum on proposed constitutional changes that would allow him to remain in power until 2036 if he keeps winning reelection.

The European Union, which has tangled with the Law and Justice government over its moves to assert more control of the judicial system, also has expressed doubts that a postal vote organized at such short notice would be free and fair.

In a resolution approved last week, EU lawmakers called the Polish government's plan “totally incompatible with European values” and said it “may endanger the lives of Polish citizens and undermine the concept of free, equal, direct and secret elections as enshrined in the Polish Constitution."

Maciej Pach, a constitutional law expert at Jagiellonian University in Krakow, also thinks the postal vote would be unconstitutional because election law changes must be made at least six months in advance. Delivering a ballot to the home of every voter also constitutes an unlawful form of pressure to participate in the election, Pach said.

Postal workers have questioned whether they can deliver voting packages on time, especially when some 30% of the country's 26,000 mail carriers are quarantined or on sick leave. Labor unions that represent postal workers say their members are afraid of handling the ballots and don’t have proper protection from the virus.

"They don’t want to expose their own health or life or that of their families,” Free Trade Union of Postal Workers chairman Piotr Moniuszko said. The election still is not a done deal. Poland's Senate, which is controlled by the opposition, has not finished Senate Speaker Tomasz Grodzki has said that amid general public anxiety over the virus, senators should reject the bill.

India reopens stores, speeding easing of virus lockdowns

April 25, 2020

NEW DELHI (AP) — A tentative easing around the world of coronavirus lockdowns gathered pace Saturday with the reopening in India of neighborhood stores that many of the country's 1.3 billion people rely on for everything from cold drinks to mobile phone data cards.

The relaxation of the super-strict Indian lockdown came with major caveats. It did not apply to hundreds of quarantined towns and other hotspots that have been hit hardest by the outbreak that has killed at least 775 people in India and terrified its multitudes of poor who live hand-to-mouth in slum conditions too crowded for social distancing.

Shopping malls also remained closed across the country. Still, for families that run small stores, being able to reopen and earn again brought relief. “This is a good decision," said Amit Sharma, an architect. “We have to open a few things and let the economy start moving. The poor people should have some source of income. This virus is going to be a long-term problem.”

Last week, India also allowed manufacturing and farming activities to resume in rural areas to ease the economic plight of millions of daily wage-earners left without work by the country's lockdown imposed March 24. India's stay-home restrictions have allowed people out of their homes only to buy food, medicine or other essentials.

Elsewhere in Asia, authorities on Saturday reported no new deaths for the 10th straight day in China, where the virus originated. And South Korea reported just 10 fresh cases, the eighth day in a row its daily jump came below 20. There were no new deaths for the second straight day.

In Sri Lanka, however, the lockdown was tightened, not eased, confirming a pattern of one-step-forward, one-step-back also seen elsewhere as countries battle the pandemic, trying to juggle public health against the health of shut-down economies.

Sri Lanka had partially lifted a monthlong curfew during daytime hours in more than two thirds of the country. But it reimposed a 24-hour lockdown countrywide after a surge Friday of 46 new infections, the highest increase in a day on the Indian Ocean island. The new curfew remains in effect until Monday.

The U.S. states of Georgia, Oklahoma and Alaska also began loosening lockdown orders on their pandemic-wounded businesses, even as the confirmed U.S. death toll from the coronavirus soared past 50,000 and despite warnings from health experts that such steps may be coming too early.

In Europe, Belgium announced that after May 3, hospitals will progressively open to some nonessential tasks. In France, the government is preparing to gingerly ease one of Europe's strictest lockdowns from May 11.

Denmark has reopened schools for the youngest grades. Kids in Spain will get their first fresh air in weeks on Sunday when a total ban on letting them outside is relaxed. Without a tried-and-tested action plan for how to pull countries out of coronavirus lockdown, the world is seeing a patchwork of approaches. Schools reopen in one country, stay closed in others; face masks are mandatory in some places, a recommendation elsewhere.

Britain was still holding off on changes to its lockdown as the coronavirus-related death toll in hospitals was on target to surge past 20,000. It's the fourth highest in Europe, behind Italy, Spain and France, each of which has reported more than 20,000 deaths.

In the U.S., Republican governors in Georgia and Oklahoma allowed salons, spas and barbershops to reopen, while Alaska opened the way for restaurants to resume dine-in service and retail shops and other businesses to open their doors, all with limitations. Some Alaska municipalities chose to maintain stricter rules.

Though limited in scope, and subject to social-distancing restrictions, the reopenings marked a symbolic milestone in the debate raging in the United States and beyond as to how quickly political leaders should lift economically devastating lockdown orders.

In Michigan, Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer lengthened her stay-at-home order through May 15, while lifting restrictions so some businesses can reopen and the public can participate in outdoor activities such as golf and motorized boating. Michigan has nearly 3,000 deaths related to COVID-19, behind only New York and New Jersey.

During a White House press briefing Friday, President Donald Trump spoke optimistically of the economy but also asked people to continue social distancing and using face coverings. The same day, Trump signed a $484 billion bill to aid employers and hospitals under stress from the pandemic. Over the past five weeks, roughly 26 million people have filed for jobless aid, or about 1 in 6 U.S. workers.

Trump also said his widely criticized comments suggesting people can ingest or inject disinfectant to fight COVID-19 were an attempt at sarcasm. The coronavirus has killed more than 190,000 people worldwide, including — as of Friday — more than 50,000 in the United States, according to a tally compiled by John Hopkins University from government figures. The actual death toll is believed to be far higher.

Amy Pembrook and her husband, Mike, reopened their hair salon in the northwest Oklahoma town of Fairview after it had been shuttered for about a month. “We’re super excited about going back, but we have caught a little flak from people who say it’s too early,” Amy Pembrook said. “We just said we can live in fear for a long time or we can trust that everything is going to be OK.”

Leicester reported from Le Pecq, France.

Now British PM, brash Boris Johnson faces Brexit conundrum

July 24, 2019

LONDON (AP) — Boris Johnson took over as Britain's prime minister Wednesday, vowing to break the impasse that defeated his predecessor by leading the country out of the European Union and silencing "the doubters, the doomsters, the gloomsters" who believe it can't be done.

But the brash Brexit champion faces the same problems that flummoxed Theresa May during her three years in office: heading a government without a parliamentary majority and with most lawmakers opposed to leaving the EU without a divorce deal.

Johnson has just 99 days to make good on his promise to deliver Brexit by Oct. 31 after what he called "three years of unfounded self-doubt." He optimistically pledged to get "a new deal, a better deal" with the EU than the one secured by May, which was repeatedly rejected by Britain's Parliament.

"The people who bet against Britain are going to lose their shirts," he said, standing outside the shiny black door of 10 Downing St. Trying to avoid the political divisions that plagued May, Johnson swept out many of her ministers to make way for his own team, dominated by loyal Brexiteers. He appointed Sajid Javid to the key role of Treasury chief, named staunch Brexit supporter Dominic Raab as foreign secretary and made Priti Patel the new home secretary, or interior minister. Michael Gove, who ran the 2016 campaign to leave the EU alongside Johnson, also got a Cabinet job.

Over half of May's Cabinet is gone, including ex-Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, Johnson's defeated rival for the Tory leadership, who said he had turned down the chance to stay in government in a different job.

In his first speech as prime minister, Johnson unleashed a scattershot spray of promises — from more police on the streets to ending a ban on genetically modified crops to faster internet access. To the many critics of the polarizing politician who find the phrase "Prime Minister Boris Johnson" jarring, it was typical of a verbal vim that is not always wedded to hard facts .

For the 55-year-old Johnson, walking into the Downing Street residence was the culmination of a life's ambition. The flamboyant, Latin-spouting former London mayor and foreign secretary helped lead the 2016 campaign to get Britain out of the EU and is now the darling of Brexit backers who feel frustrated that, three years later, the country is still in the bloc.

Judging by his words on Wednesday, Johnson's approach to the EU will be a mix of charm and threats. He vowed to keep relations with the EU "as warm and as close and as affectionate as possible" and promised the 3 million EU nationals in Britain "absolute certainty" that they can stay. May made the same promise, but it still is not enshrined in law.

In the next breath, Johnson said Britain might be forced to leave with no deal if "Brussels refuses any further to negotiate" — trying to pin the blame for any future failure on the bloc. That's not an approach likely to win the trust and confidence of EU leaders.

The EU is adamant it will not renegotiate the agreement struck with May on the terms of Britain's departure and the framework of future relations. Without it, Britain faces a chaotic Brexit that economists warn would disrupt trade by imposing tariffs and customs checks between Britain and the bloc, send the value of the pound plummeting and plunge the U.K. into recession.

Chief EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said "we are ready to listen and to work with" Johnson, but he did not budge on the bloc's refusal to alter the deal. "A no-deal Brexit will never be, never, the choice of the EU. But we are prepared," he said in Brussels before Johnson spoke.

Johnson's political opponents accused him of offering little more than hot air. "Rhetoric and reality are two different things," said Labor Party Brexit spokesman Keir Starmer. Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon tweeted that Johnson's speech was "rambling, blame-shifting and, to put it mildly, somewhat divorced from reality."

Wednesday's carefully choreographed political drama unfolded with May attending the weekly Prime Minister's Questions period in the House of Commons for the last time . The usually boisterous session was subdued, with Conservative colleagues praising May's sense of duty and opposition leaders offering best wishes.

As she left the chamber, May received a standing ovation from Conservative lawmakers, many of whom helped bring her down by rejecting her Brexit deal. Later, she stood in Downing Street alongside her husband Philip and said it had been "the greatest honor" to serve as prime minister. She then went to Buckingham Palace to tender her resignation to Queen Elizabeth II.

Moments after her Jaguar left the palace, Johnson swept in to see the queen and be appointed the 14th prime minister of her 67-year reign. Her first was Winston Churchill, who is idolized by Johnson. There was a brief hiccup in the smooth handover when Greenpeace climate-change protesters blocked Johnson's car by forming a human chain on the road outside the palace. They were quickly moved aside by his police escort. Later, hundreds of people demonstrated in central London against Johnson's support for Brexit and past offensive remarks about Muslims, women and others.

If he is to succeed, Johnson must win over the many Britons opposed to Brexit and resistant to his blustering charisma. In a sign he hopes to move beyond the largely white, male and affluent Conservative members who chose him as their leader, Johnson's office said his government would be a "Cabinet for modern Britain" with more women and a record number of ministers from ethnic minorities.

His administration is also set to include some pro-EU politicians, but most will be strong Brexit supporters. One of his senior advisers is set to be Dominic Cummings, lead strategist for the 2016 referendum.

A contentious figure, Cummings was found to be in contempt of Parliament earlier this year for refusing to give evidence to a committee of lawmakers investigating "fake news." British lawmakers are due to start a six-week summer break on Friday. When they return in September, Johnson looks set for a fight with lawmakers, a majority of whom oppose leaving the EU without a deal.

That has led to speculation he could call a snap election in hopes of gaining a majority in Parliament for his plans. Political commentator Matthew Parris, a former Conservative lawmaker, said Johnson was about to find out whether the skills that have brought him to power would work in government.

"However far excitement, energy, positivity can take you ... they will take Boris Johnson that far," he said. "But there is a limit."

Theresa May leaves with head held high but dogged by Brexit

July 24, 2019

LONDON (AP) — Theresa May has plenty of options now that she's no longer a resident of 10 Downing Street. She could opt for the highly paid speaker circuit, become a consultant to an investment bank, or take a high profile PR position — like former Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, who signed up with Facebook for his post-politics career.

But May is not cashing in — for now. Ever modest and dutiful, the former prime minister simply plans to take a backseat role in Parliament, one of 650 members of the House of Commons, representing her longtime district as she has for more than two decades.

After the heartbreak of trying to wrench Britain out of the European Union — an effort that produced a still unbroken impasse that dominated her three year premiership — May seems to crave a bit of normalcy.

"I am about to leave Downing Street but I am proud to continue as the member of Parliament for Maidenhead. I will continue to do all I can to serve the national interest," she said, walking away from the heights of power with her head held high and her husband Philip at her side.

While the Brexit project she touted on her arrival remains in tatters, May cited her role as Britain's second female prime minister as a positive record for women. "I hope that every young girl who has seen a woman prime minister now knows for sure that there are no limits to what they can achieve," she said in her final Downing Street address.

An hour earlier, she told members of Parliament that a future female prime minister — or perhaps more than one — could be in their midst. May's final months were painful as Parliament repeatedly rejected the Brexit divorce deal with the EU that was the cornerstone of her administration. She finally accepted that her Conservative Party was hopelessly divided on the issue, and succumbed to pressure to step down.

May has promised her "full support" for successor Boris Johnson, who now inherits the Brexit stalemate with an Oct. 31 deadline for Britain's departure fast approaching. But many expect her to use her parliamentary vote — and her influence — to try to prevent Britain from leaving the EU without a deal, which Johnson says he's willing to do if necessary.

Former Conservative Party legislator Matthew Parris said he does not expect May to stay out of the fray even though her role is much reduced. "When it comes to votes in the House of Commons she has set her face against a no-deal Brexit," he said. "Her refusal to contemplate a no-deal Brexit was what in the end destroyed her. And I don't think she's going to change her mind now about a no-deal Brexit. And if it looks as if we're heading that way. Expect to hear more from Theresa May."

Renata Brito in London contributed to this report.