A British MP from the Conservative Party has defected to the Liberal Democrats. That means that Prime Minister Johnson’s government no longer has a seat majority in the lower house.

During a speech by Johnson in Parliament, MP Phillip Lee suddenly sat down among the opposition:

A few minutes later an online statement appeared in which he explained his switch.

“The government is recklessly looking for a damaging Brexit,” writes Lee. “The lives and viability of the country are unnecessarily put at risk.”

Here you go: Tory MP Philip Lee literally crosses the floor, follows Lib Dem chief whip Alistair Carmichael and new MP Jane Dodds onto the LD benches, takes a seat next to party leader Jo Swinson pic.twitter.com/VbRPG3CTTB

— Alex Partridge 🚡 (@alexpartridge87) September 3, 2019

The majority of the government was already extremely shaky. A group of fifteen to twenty Conservative party members of Johnson disagree with his brexit course and probably agree with the opposition on brexit topics.

Tonight is going to be an important moment for the Brexit.

“The opposition is going to try to take over the House of Commons agenda. If the House of Commons votes for it, a bill will follow tomorrow to postpone the Brexit date by three months.”

Johnson is completely opposed to a delay: he wants to leave the European Union on 31 October, whether or not there is an agreement. Asking for a delay is, according to him, bad for the British negotiating position in Brussels.