British MPs are electing a replacement for John Bercow, who stepped down as House Speaker on 31 October - the failed Halloween deadline for the UK to leave the EU, after ten years.
The United Kingdom was originally supposed to leave the 28-member bloc on 29 March 2019, that is, two years after submitting a written notice of withdrawal from the community. However, Parliamentarians in the House of Commons failed to ratify the UK-EU deal on the conditions of Brexit three times; the agreement, which had been reached by Brussels and the government led by former prime minister Theresa May, lacked support over the controversial 'Irish backstop'.
As a result, the EU agreed to postpone Brexit first to April or May, and then to October 31, and Theresa May was forced to resign, after failing to break the deadlock.
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