DECISION TIME

Boris Johnson Calls for Britain to Hold Brexit Election

If Parliament votes his proposal through, Britain will go to the polls on Dec. 12.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has called for a general election to be held on Dec. 12. In a cunning maneuver, however, he will attempt to force his Brexit deal through Parliament a few days before the vote. By tying together a re-run of the vote on his Brexit deal and the vote on whether to hold an election, he has backed the opposition parties into a corner. Those who want to block his Brexit deal will have to gamble on successfully blocking it in the hours before Parliament is dissolved. Twin votes on whether to hold the election and re-schedule votes on the Brexit withdrawal deal will be held on Monday, leaving opposition figures with three days of backroom scrambling to decide on which gamble to take.