(Adds timings)By Elizabeth Piper, Kylie MacLellan and William JamesLONDON, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Boris Johnson willtry to drive the legislation needed to take Britain out of theEuropean Union through parliament in the next 10 days, or elsebreak his "do or die" pledge to leave on Oct. 31.
On Monday, Johnson was forced to abandon his attempt to havea straight 'yes or no' vote on his Brexit deal, and is insteadtrying to speed through the legislation for Britain to leave theEU through the lower and upper houses of parliament.He still aims to meet his Oct. 31 deadline, despite beingforced to send a letter to the EU seeking an extension, ahumiliating blow for a leader who said previously he wouldrather be "dead in a ditch" than ask for a delay. After more than three years of negotiations, it is unclearas to how, whether or when a deeply divided Britain will leavethe bloc, more than 40 years after the country joined theproject built out of the ruins left by World War Two.Following is a rough guide to what could happen next:
BREXIT LEGISLATIONThe Withdrawal Agreement Bill is a piece of legislation thatimplements the terms of the Brexit deal in British law. It hasto pass through several stages in each of parliament's twochambers before it becomes law.
TUESDAY: SECOND READINGThis provides the first opportunity for lawmakers to debatethe principle of the bill.
It is followed by a vote, which the government must win toproceed to the next stage of legislation. This vote is expectedat 1800 GMT.
The government believes it has a majority to pass this stageeven though the opposition Labour Party and other rival partiesare expected to oppose it.
TUESDAY: PROGRAMME MOTIONThe government then has to lay out the timetable for theremaining stages of the legislation, and have lawmakers approvethis timetable.
This is expected to be a crucial stage, and the vote willtake place after 1800 GMT.Johnson wants to push through the legislation in time forBritain to leave on Oct. 31, but some of those who support thedeal in principle are uncomfortable with passing such animportant piece of legislation so quickly.Only a handful of those in favour of the deal would have toobject to the timetable for Johnson to lose the slim majority hebelieves he has behind him.
If parliament does not agree to the timetable, Johnson'splans to leave on Oct. 31 could well be ruined.
BEGINS TUESDAY: COMMITTEE STAGEAt this stage of proceedings, lawmakers discuss proposedchanges to the bill.This is likely to test whether there is a majority inparliament for a second Brexit referendum, or to commit thegovernment to seeking a customs union with the EU in its longterm relationship with the bloc.The government has indicated that negotiations with the EUare closed, so any amendment which is approved by parliament andchanges the shape of the deal would be highly problematic.The government has proposed three hours of debate at thisstage on Tuesday, following the programme motion vote, and 12hours on Wednesday, starting after 1200 GMT.Discussions on second referendum amendments would take placeon Wednesday.
CONCLUDES THURSDAY: REPORT STAGE AND THIRD READINGIf the bill survives the earlier stages intact, parliamentwill have another chance to debate it and make changes, beforeit is put to a final vote and handed off to the House of Lords.The government has proposed eight hours of debate forThursday, which is likely to begin after 0930 GMT.
FRIDAY: The House of Lords
The Lords, parliament's upper chamber, will beginscrutinising and amending the bill through several stages androunds of voting.This part of the process is not subject to stricttimetabling and deadlines are usually agreed between theparties.
It would likely take several days and any changes would thenhave to be approved by the House of Commons before the law canbe finalised.
EU RESPONSE TO DELAY REQUESTThe chairman of European Union leaders, Donald Tusk, said onSaturday he had received the extension request and he would nowbe consulting with EU capitals on how to react.After a short meeting on Sunday, diplomats with the blocsaid the EU would play for time rather than rush to decide onthe delay request. "We're looking for more clarity towards the end of the week,hoping that by that time we will also see how things develop inLondon," one senior EU diplomat said.Leaders of the 27 states that will make up the EU onceBritain leaves are unlikely to deny the extensionrequest. British minister Michael Gove said on Sunday the EU was"waiting to see what parliament does now".
"We'll have an opportunity in the days ahead to consider thelegislation that allows us to leave the European Union. Ifpeople vote for that legislation ... then we can leave and wecan leave in time," he said.
ELECTION?Both the governing Conservatives and main opposition LabourParty say they want a new election, but Labour leader JeremyCorbyn has said he will not back any move to hold one until ano-deal Brexit is ruled out."An election is inevitable because of the numbers inparliament, because we have got to break the impasse, the timingwill be a matter for Jeremy Corbyn ... but it is inevitable thatsooner or later this breaks into a general election," Labour'sBrexit spokesman Keir Starmer said on Sunday.<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Brexit will happen on Oct. 31 despite PM's unsigned delayrequest, UK says ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> (Reporting by Elizabeth Piper, Kylie MacLellan, William James,Michael Holden and Paul Sandle,Editing by Guy Faulconbridge, Angus MacSwan and Ed Osmond)
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