Now, British prime minister Boris Johnson will get to do what he's long loathed -- beg before the European Union (EU).
Johnson will follow in the footsteps of his predecessor, Theresa May, and make a pilgrimage to Brussels to do what May did twice before: ask for an extension of the Brexit deadline. Johnson will have no choice but to make the trip he despises after the House of Commons on Wednesday passed a bill to stop him from going ahead with his preferred No-Deal Brexit.
The bill will force Johnson to ask the EU for an extension to the Brexit process until Jan. 31, 2020. Media reports say the EU isn't inclined to do so.
The bill was approved by MPs by 327 votes for and 299 against.
Johnson's bid to call a snap election was also dashed by the Commons. He had threatened to call this election if the Commons passed the bill. Two-thirds of Parliament had to agree to holding a snap election and the vote was clearly well short of this threshold.
Johnson would have won such a general election and he chided Labour leader Jeremy Corbin for being the first Opposition leader to turn down a call for such an election.
A ferocious Brexiteer, Johnson promised the UK would leave the EU by the prevailing Oct. 31 deadline "come what may."
Johnson's latest parliamentary defeat follows one on Tuesday when a majority of MPs supported a plan to take control of parliamentary business. This was the first step in a move by both Labour and rebels in Johnson's own Conservative Party to stop a potentially ruinous No-Deal Brexit.
Johnson's No-Deal continues to aggravate many MPs on both sides of the "Remain" and "Leave" camps because it means an abrupt, overnight departure from the EU on Oct. 31 with no transition period.
The legislation to stop a No-Deal Brexit forces Johnsonr to ask the EU for another delay to Brexit if there is no deal in place, or if a deal hasn't been agreed in Parliament. The EU will also have to agree to a delay.
The Commons' bill will also have to be ratified by the largely pro-EU House of Lords later this week.
The drama at the Commons on Tuesday saw a "rebel alliance" of 21 disaffected Tories align with their Labour foes to deal Johnson a embarrassing defeat.
The rebels effectively scuppered Johnson's No-Deal Brexit by seizing control of the parliamentary agenda.
Johnson has long condemned the option of asking for another extension. He has long said he doesn't want to take the threat of a No-Deal Brexit off the table. He claims the No-Deal threat makes his negotiating position against the EU much stronger.
"Let there be no doubt about the consequences of this vote tonight," said Johnson on Tuesday. "It means that parliament is on the brink of wrecking any deal we might be able to strike in Brussels."
The government lost Tuesday's vote by 328 votes to 301. The loss prompted Johnson to immediately announce plans to call for a snap election Wednesday rather than be forced to request another "pointless delay" to Brexit by traveling to Brussels.
The Conservatives then kicked-out 21 of its MPs that voted in favor of the bill on Tuesday. Among those removed were Kenneth Clarke, who has been a Conservative lawmaker for 49 years, former finance minister Philip Hammond, and Nicholas Soames, the grandson of Winston Churchill.
