(Un)lucky number? BoJo loses record SEVENTH vote as MPs refuse to give Tories time off for party conference

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has suffered seven defeats in a row, after lawmakers rejected a government motion for a mini recess to allow Conservatives to attend their party conference in Manchester.

It’s a new record that Johnson will not want to boast about, breaking his own unenviable record of six defeats in the process. The UK parliament is struggling to function as MPs attempt to grapple with the thorny issue of Brexit.

British lawmakers in the House of Commons on Thursday rejected a parliamentary recess by 306 votes to 289. Conservative ministers and MPs are now expected to travel back and forth from Westminster to Manchester to attend their conference while they endeavour to continue parliamentary business.

The conference, which is due to start on Sunday and runs until Wednesday, comes a week after the Labour Party held their get-together in Brighton.

Parliament is usually adjourned to permit MPs to attend party conferences but with Brexit looming these are not unusual circumstances. Opposition MPs have argued that “parliamentary democracy and scrutiny during the current constitutional crisis” should take priority.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn told BBC Radio 4’s Today program that Johnson’s Tory government should not “be able to run away from accountability yet again.”

Johnson has called a cabinet meeting for 5pm BST, where it’s thought his government will discuss their next move. There are reports that the prime minister could try to prorogue parliament for a second time, despite the UK Supreme Court ruling that his first attempt was “unlawful.”

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