Johnson period (Phase 2)

brexit-fact-base-london — Photo by hxdbzxy/Shutterstock

Key players

The key players in this Johnson period of the negotiations were:

Boris Johnson

Prime Minister, 24 July 2019 – 6 September 2022
Photo via HM Government

Stephen Barclay

Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, 16 November 2018 – 31 January 2020
Photo via HM Government

David Frost

Chief Negotiator for Exiting the European Union (24 July 2019 – 31 January 2020) and PM’s Europe Adviser (24 July 2019 to 1 March 2021)
Photo via HM Government

Key events 2019 to 2020

1. Boris Johnson commits to House of Commons to the 31 October date for Brexit and refuses to rule out the possibility of a ‘no deal’ Brexit on 25 July 2019.

2 Prime Minister moves a motion to hold an early General Election, but the motion is defeated on 4 September 2019.

Although a majority voted in favour (298 votes to 56), this was below the required number of votes (434) under the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011.

3 PM advised Her Majesty to prorogue Parliament (unlawfully) on 9 September 2019.

4 The Benn-Burt Bill received Royal Assent on 9 September 2019.

It prevented the government from leaving the EU without a deal on 31 October and required it to seek an extension from the EU if there was no deal.

5 Government publishes Operation Yellowhammer on 11 September 2019, the document outlining the possible consequences of a no-deal Brexit.

6 Supreme Court passes a unanimous judgment into Gina Miller’s case on 24 September:

ruling “the decision to advise Her Majesty to prorogue Parliament was unlawful because it had the effect of frustrating or preventing the ability of Parliament to carry out its constitutional functions without reasonable justification.”

7 Government publishes Prime Minister’s plan for an alternative to the backstop and also removing level playing field undertakings on 2 October 2019

8 Government publishes the No-Deal Readiness Report on 8 October, detailing the UK’s preparedness ahead of Brexit on 31 October

9 Parliament was prorogued again until 14 October, on 8 October.

10 Government requested the EU for a third extension to Article 50 to 31 January 2020 on Saturday 19 October.

11 EU granted the Article 50 extension on 28 October.

12 Prime Minister moves a motion to hold an early General Election, but the motion is defeated on 29 October 2019.

13 Government introduces the Early Parliamentary General Election Bill on 30 October which sets the date for a General Election to take place on 12 December.

14 Conservatives win the General Election with 365 seats, Labour with 202 seats, on 12 December 2019

15 The European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill becomes an Act of Parliament: the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020, on 23 January 2020.

This is the legislation that will implement the Withdrawal Agreement negotiated by the UK and the EU.

16 Charles Michel (Donald Tusk’s successor, President of the European Council) and Ursula von der Leyen (President of the European Commission) sign the Withdrawal Agreement in Brussels on 24 January 2020.

Later that day, the document is signed by Prime Minister Boris Johnson in London.
The agreement is then approved by the European Parliament and ratified by the EU.

17 31 January 2020: at 11pm, the UK leaves the European Union and enters a transition period that is due to run until the end of the year.