All eyes are now on the European Union after Prime Minister Boris Johnson sent a letter requesting that Brussels delay Brexit. This is a major U-turn for Johnson, who has repeatedly stressed that he would never seek a Brexit delay and promised to take UK out of the bloc. However, the PM sent the letter unsigned and accompanied it with another letter, in which he said delaying Brexit would hurt both sides.
It is unclear how Brussels will react to the stunt. Rodney Atkinson, founder of the website Freenations.net, one of Britain's most successful political economists and a former adviser to UK cabinet ministers, said Brussels should heed the public’s call and deny a Brexit extension.
"When confronted with the request from Parliament for yet another delay the EU should refuse and instead obey and follow the British people, the British Government and the British Prime Minister and refuse an extension. I am assuming that the EU will now be on the side of the British Prime Minister and will seek to prevent a further extension. They will not wish the economic uncertainty to continue. These are dark times for Democracy. They will be darker if the EU acts against the British people and grants a delay", said Rodney Atkinson.
Despite the fact that parliamentarians have withheld approval for a Brexit agreement, Boris Johnson and his allies insist that the country will be able to leave the bloc based on an agreement that he brokered with Brussels. Many remain sceptical that this can be achieved, given the shortage of time and how Johnson’s deal was criticised by MPs.
However, Yannis Koutsomitis, a political and economic analyst from Belgium, assumes that the new Brexit agreement may receive a majority in the Parliament.
"The breakdown of votes on the Letwin Amendment has shown that there is a theoretical majority in favour of the new deal. If the deal should pass, then I believe there is enough time to complete Brexit by October 31", said Yannis Koutsomitis.
Opponents of Johnson’s deal say that the PM resurrected the agreement of his predecessor, Theresa May, which they claim traps the United Kingdom in the European Union.
Rodney Atkinson says that the public will stage revolt against the country’s political establishment when it discovers what the deal is concealing.
"The Withdrawal Agreement is full of danger. It means the payment of billions of pounds, continued restrictions of UK trade with the rest of the world, continuing control by EU law, a dangerous surrender of our defence and security interests and absolutely no guarantee of an EU trade agreement. When the British people see what this non-Brexit means there will be another massive revolt against the British political establishment", said Rodney Atkinson.
PM Boris Johnson has repeatedly stressed that he is ready to leave the EU without a deal if both sides fail to reach a compromise. A group of MPs passed the Benn act and recently backed Letwin amendment to thwart a no-deal Brexit. However, Rodney Atkinson argues that the measure is actually aimed at making the UK stay in EU. Atkinson stressed that Oliver Letwin, who introduced the amendment, "is not interested in any exit - legal, safe or constitutional. Letwin is determined to stop Brexit".
Commenting on Britain’s prospects of leaving the bloc without a deal, Yannis Koutsomitis said: “Although the Letwin has lowered the chances of a no-deal Brexit but the risk is still there."