During a speech on Monday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called on the British Parliament not to vote for “new, meaningless postponement” of the Brexit. The opposition parties, but also fellow party members of Johnson who are in favor of a ‘soft’ Brexit, published a law earlier in the day with which they intend to prevent a ‘no deal Brexit’.

If the UK Parliament votes this week for the Standing Order 24, Johnson must submit a request to the EU to postpone the Brexit deadline until January 31, 2020, if he does not find a majority in Parliament for a deal before October 19.

If a deal is concluded between the current deadline of 31 October and the new deadline, the UK can still leave the EU at an accelerated pace. The law does not address the scenario where no deal is concluded before January 31, 2020.

The opposition parties had to intervene this week to prevent a ‘no-deal Brexit’, because Johnson decided to reduce the number of days the parliament sits in the run-up to the Brexit. The parliamentary year would only start on October 14, two weeks before the exit date.

Thousands of Britons protested Wednesday and Thursday in the UK against the suspension and an online petition was signed more than 1.6 million times.