The UK House of Commons, after hours of debate on Saturday, October 19, held its first vote. Parliament with a slight margin – 322 votes to 306 – supported Oliver Letvin’s amendment on a new postponement of Brexit. The essence of the amendment is that parliament does not agree on a deal without ratification.

What does it mean

• The amendment essentially postpones the decisive vote, which means the loss of Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the further delay in the saga of Britain’s exit from the EU. Today, approval of the deal with the European Union will no longer be certain.
• Johnson announced that he did not intend to ask the EU for a postponement, and insisted on leaving October 31. He expects a new vote in parliament next week.
• According to previously adopted amendments, Johnson is still obliged to request the EU to extend the release date until January 31, 2020. But real negotiations may not be, FT notes.
• The chance to approve Britain’s exit from the EU remains, but now for the remaining days, parliament must first accept the agreement on exit and then again vote for Johnson’s plan.
• Any certainty for the British and global economies would be better than continuing endless negotiations, but any deal would be better than Brexit without agreement. For Britain, withdrawing from the EU, even with a deal, could mean a loss of 6.7% of GDP over the next 15 years, or £ 130 billion ($ 170 billion).
• The pound sterling rate fell on Saturday, markets expect a sharp decline on Monday.