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The party has made its pledge to “get Brexit done” front and center of its election pitch ahead of the ballot next month, while laying out plans to increase spending on health, policing and education.
At a party event to announce the manifesto, Johnson said he would “end the acrimony and the chaos” over Brexit, while Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn threatens to rip up the current deal, negotiate a new one within three months and put it to a referendum.
“We don’t even know if anybody believes in Mr. Corbyn’s new deal apart from Mr. Corbyn,” the prime minister said in a speech. “I don’t want to waste 2020 in two more referendums.”
“If we’re lucky enough to be returned with a working majority on December 13, we have this deal ready to go; it is ‘just add water,'” Johnson said. “We can then get the whole thing completed in a matter of days if not weeks, and we’re out by January 31.”
The manifesto rules out any extension of the Brexit transition period past December 2020, meaning that the U.K. would have to negotiate a new trading relationship with the EU by then or else leave with no deal.
“We want to honor the democratic processes of this country,” Johnson said. “We want to focus on the priorities of the British people, above all the NHS and the cost of living.” [...]