The agreement is described as a ‘flextension’, meaning that although the deadline is 31 January, the UK can leave earlier if agreement on a deal can be reached.
Under the terms of the Benn Act, the law which forced UK PM Boris Johnson to ask for an extension from the EU, even though he did not want one, the government had to accept the offer.
That paves the way for an election to take place, and yesterday Mr Johnson asked the House of Commons to approve a poll being held on 12 December.
Yesterday’s vote required a two-thirds majority of MPs to approve an election on 12 December, but it was defeated with only 299 votes in favour and 70 against while most Labour Party MPs abstained.
But the Liberal Democrats and Scottish Nationalists have thrown something of a lifeline to the UK Prime Minister, and with the failure of yesterday’s vote it now looks as if an effort will be made to amend the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act to allow for an election on 9 December.
This would require only a majority vote of MPs in order to pass.
Guernsey International Business Association chairman Tony Mancini welcomed the extension.
He said that it was generally accepted that no deal was a poor outcome for the island. ‘So this extension removes the chance of that happening on 31 October, which is a good outcome,’ he said.
‘However, there is still a long way to go and considerable uncertainty remains.’
Chamber of Commerce president Barrie Baxter said: ‘We need to be prepared for any eventuality, timing and outcome.
‘The States have been doing a good job preparing us for that accordingly and our strength as an island is to be able to respond positively through unstable times.’
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