3:12 p.m. ET, October 28, 2019
Johnson will push for one-line bill on early election
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced he will try to bypass the supermajority rule which ensured he lost his bid for an early election on Monday by introducing a new piece of legislation that would effectively override the current election law.
A one-line bill, saying something along the lines of "notwithstanding the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act (FTPA), an election will be held on December 12."
Johnson would only need a simple majority of MPs to pass that law, as opposed to the backing of two thirds of Parliament required by the FTPA.
However, there are two issues with that approach:
- Johnson doesn't have a majority.
- Just like any legislation in Parliament, a one-line bill will be open to amendments.
Johnson runs the risk that the opposition could team up with Conservative rebels to change the law in ways that could potentially hurt him.