Investing.com – U.K Prime Minister Boris Johnson's hopes of getting his Brexit deal fast-tracked through parliament were dealt a blow after the government was defeated in a vote on the timetable for Brexit, although the government had earlier won a first vote on the deal legistlation to progress.
- The government was defeated by 322 to 308 votes. The second reading vote was on whether U.K. lawmakers would allow Johnson to get his deal through the House of Commons before the end of Thursday. U.K. lawmakers had earlier voted in favor of the Withdrawal Agreement Bill, which would lead to Brexit becoming law – agreeing with it in principle.
- Ahead of voting, Johnson had threatened to abandon the bill and instead push for general election – even if the EU grants an extension – if lawmakers failed to back his deal. But U.K legislators argued that the three-day proposal – the timetable set by Johnson to get his deal through the Commons – to scrutinize the deal was not enough.
- Following the defeat, Johnson said he would pause the legislation and claimed "our policy remains that we should not delay, that we should leave EU on Oct. 31."
- GBP/USD fell 0.5% to $1.2890, and was at $1.2900 just before the result of the vote. The currency spiked following the first vote that passed, but there was lots of selling into the announcemet of the results of the second vote.
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