In July, Boris Johnson became the British prime minister with a promise to take the United Kingdom out of the European Union on Oct. 31, deal or no deal. But some members of his Conservative Party, as well as most members of the opposition, have threatened to trigger a vote of no confidence against Johnson. Should the vote succeed, Parliament would have 14 days to appoint a new prime minister. And, if legislators cannot appoint one within that time, an early general election would follow.
But even if he loses a no-confidence motion, Johnson will continue to be the United Kingdom's prime minister until his successor is appointed. And during that time, he will have some leeway in choosing the date of the election and could very well decide to hold it after the Oct. 31 deadline -- that is, by the time the country is already out of the European...
