[Johnson] Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
He cannot work out whether he is for Brexit or against it,
for a referendum or against it.
[Waldie] When Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been adamant that he wants
to leave the European Union on October 31st, with or without a deal,
do-or-die, no matter what.
His problem though is that Parliament won't let him do that.
[Corbyn] The only point of any importance that the Prime Minister just included
in his speech, is his clear indication that he does not intend to follow
the law that has just been passed, that requires him to ask for an extension
on certain circumstances.
[Waldie] If he hasn't reached a deal by October 19th,
he must ask for an extension beyond the October 31st deadline.
Now, Boris Johnson has said he's going to try and see if there's a loophole,
see if there's a way around
this legislation that was passed by Parliament.
But legal experts say it's pretty airtight
and there's not a lot he can do. So if he does decide to
reinterpret the law, or interpret in a different way, and try
and leave European Union on October 31st without an agreement,
the opposition parties have already lined up legal teams to fight that in the courts,
so this could drag on for a while.
And that of course would leave the country in limbo - is it in the EU or isn't it?
Of course, back in July Boris Johnson cleaned house,
he got rid of just about everybody who was sympathetic to his predecessor,
Teresa May, who of course had been forced out by the Conservative Party
as leader because she couldn't deliver on Brexit.
And Boris Johnson took over as leader and Prime Minister
bound and determined to deliver on Brexit on October 31st, no matter what.
So one of the first appointments he made was to bring in a guy named Dominic Cummings.
Now, Cummings ran the Vote Leave campaign in the 2016 referendum.
That's a campaign that Boris Johnson co-chaired; Cummings was the brains behind that campaign,
and obviously it was a campaign that, you know, nobody thought would win.
Everybody thought the remain side was going to win and, of course, he pulled off
an amazing victory at the end of it.
Now, Cummings has a reputation for being a very driven,
competitive person and he has ruffled an awful lot of feathers already
in his short time in Downing Street.
Many say he was behind Boris Johnson's move
to expel 21 Conservative members of Parliament, not just from caucus
but from the entire party, because they sided with the Opposition in Parliament.
So, Cummings is running a very determined, very aggressive campaign to ensure
that Boris Johnson delivers on this October 31st promise.
Whether it works or not remains to be seen, but he has certainly caused an awful lot of commotion,
not just in Parliament but within the Conservative Party itself.
The European Union, of course, has always been looking at what's going on in Britain
with some amazement, some trepidation.
A no deal Brexit, a hard Brexit,
would be a tragedy, for all sides.
[Waldie] But I think more than ever, right now,
they're trying to understand where things stand.
They understand that Boris Johnson wants to leave on October 31st,
with or without an agreement, but if he is forced
to seek an extension, of course it's up to the EU to grant that extension.
And it has to be a unanimous decision by all of the other 27 EU member state.
Right now, France has balked, saying they're not keen to do another extension,
they want this over with, they want Brexit done and finished.
And also, keep in mind that on October 31st,
which of course is the Brexit deadline,
the entire Commission staff, if you will,
Executive team of the EU, changes over and all of the people
who've been in charge for the last five years, who've been dealing with
Britain over Brexit, will leave and a whole new crew comes in.
So how they're going to handle this if there's an extension,
what kind of an extension they might agree to
remains to be seen, so the EU is in a very difficult position.
Do they just stand firm and say, 'no, Britain has to leave on October 31st'
or will they accept an extension, and would they accept an extension or would they ask for an extension,
that could last not months but years,
which would really put Britain in a difficult position.