Johnson still pushing for quick Brexit as election calls grow

Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government on Thursday insisted that it still wants Britain to leave the European Union (EU) next week, amid growing calls for an election to break the parliamentary impasse over Brexit.
Johnson had said he was waiting for a response from Brussels to Britain’s request for a Brexit delay beyond Oct 31.
“Try as we might it is impossible to get Brexit through this parliament.
“Only a general election will inject fresh democracy into the composition of the house and allow us to deliver on the 2016 Brexit referendum result,’’ pro-Brexit Conservative lawmaker Andrew Bridgen tweeted on Thursday.
Johnson has twice tabled motions for an election in parliament’s main house, the Commons, but failed to win the two-thirds majority he required.
His leader in the Commons, Jacob Rees-Mogg, told lawmakers it was impossible to guarantee, that the Brexit deal agreed with Brussels would return to parliament intact after an election.
As parties may make campaign promises that would require the deal be  altered yet again.
Rees-Mogg did not mention Johnson’s stalled EU Withdrawal Agreement Bill, which legislates for Brexit, in a statement of parliamentary business for next week.
“The deadline is October 31, a deadline to which we are all working towards,’’ he said.
Johnson told lawmakers on Wednesday that the request to EU leaders for a Brexit delay was from parliament and not from him.
He said late on Tuesday that he would pause his key Brexit legislation after lawmakers rejected his three-day timetable for them to scrutinize it.