Conservative U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson suffered a 328-301 defeat on a referendum authorizing Parliament to seize control of parliamentary business (which Johnson had tried to thwart in August by requesting and receiving permission from the Queen to suspend parliamentary business well into October). The vote is a huge setback for Brexit supporters.
Johnson's position was that Parliament weakening his hold on power would hinder any hope of a deal with the EU prior to withdrawing. His opponents and many party allies were unconvinced, or simply cynical in their machinations to remain in the union.
Johnson vowed ahead of the vote to expel rebels within his party who crossed over on the vote. Part of the issue: he'll need as many MP allies as possible to force a snap election against Jeremy Corbyn.
Markets were mostly unruffled. The pound was surprisingly resilient at 1.20 vs. the dollar...but that was before Johnson appeared to have followed through on his threat to expel the 21 MPs who voted against the party. More to come.
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