UK lawmakers reject Brexit law timetable, putting Oct. 31 exit in doubt

Britain's departure from the European Union was thrown into chaos on Tuesday after parliament rejected Prime Minister Boris Johnson's extremely tight timetable for ratifying his exit deal.

Lawmakers voted 322 to 308 against the so-called Program Motion which set out a three-day schedule to rush his deal through the House of Commons. Earlier, lawmakers voted 329 to 299 in favor of the second reading of his 115-page Withdrawal Agreement Bill.

Ahead of the vote, Johnson had warned parliament that if it defeated him on the timetable and forced a delay until January then he would abandon his attempt to ratify the deal and push for an election instead under the slogan of "Get Brexit Done". Johnson was on Saturday forced by opponents into the humiliation of asking the EU for a delay beyond Oct. 31 that he had vowed he would never seek. The European Council president Donald Tusk said he is taking the request seriously.