United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s plan to go against international law and breach parts of the Brexit divorce treaty with the European Union will face a vote in parliament on Monday, with there being growing opposition against the decision from his own party.
The House of Commons will debate the Internal Market Bill on Monday, with the EU demanding Johnson to scrap the bill altogether by the end of the month.
Once the debate is concluded, the lawmakers will decide whether the bill should progress to the next stage.
The decision by Johnson to explicitly break international law has led to the Brexit plan to go back into crisis, with less than four months left before the UK officially leaves the EU and all negotiations, with the post-Brexit transition period ending in December.
The EU has started to prepare very strongly for a possible no-deal Brexit, whilst the UK has formally dismissed the decision by Brussels to scrap the main parts of the Internal Market Bill by the end of the month.
Johnson, who managed a majority of 80 in the lower house of parliament, is now facing growing revolt from many of his own lawmakers due to the introduction of the bill, with former prime ministers John Major, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and Theresa May all criticising the plan.
Johnson’s former Attorney General, Geoffrey Cox, told The Times “When the queen’s minister gives his word, on her behalf, it should be axiomatic that he will keep it, even if the consequences are unpalatable”.
He added that “No British minister should solemnly undertake to observe treaty obligations with his fingers crossed behind his back”.
Cox was removed from his position by Johnson in February.
According to the UK, the bill, which explicitly says that it could be inconsistent with a host of international laws, simply clarifies certain ambiguities.
The UK claims that it is fully committed to the Brexit treaty, yet its main priority is the 1998 Northern Ireland peace deal that ended decades of violence between the nations.