On Wednesday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson met with Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn in a bid to break the deadlock on the UK's plan to leave the European Union by 31 October. Johnson's spokesperson, however, later announced that the two politicians had failed to find common ground during the encounter.
The House of Commons, on Tuesday, passed Johnson's withdrawal bill by a 329-299 vote, allowing it to move to the next phase of debates, but then rejected the three-day deadline for debating the bill by a 322-308 vote. Johnson was therefore forced to pause the debate.
The prime minister asked the EU last week to postpone Brexit until 31 January 2020, as he was mandated to under the Benn Act. However, he accompanied the letter with a personal note in which he argued against granting the UK that extension.