Prime Minister Boris Johnson makes a fresh bid for an election to break the Brexit deadlock on Tuesday after nearly three-and-a-half years of wrangling in parliament that has left Britain's exit from the European Union in turmoil.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson makes a fresh bid for an election to break the Brexit deadlock on Tuesday after nearly three-and-a-half years of wrangling in parliament that has left Britain's exit from the European Union in turmoil. As the European Union finalises a third delay to the divorce that was originally supposed to take place on March 29, the United Kingdom, its parliament and its voters remain divided on how or indeed if to go ahead with Brexit. Johnson, who had promised to deliver Brexit on October 31, "do or die", has repeatedly demanded an election to end what he casts as a nightmare paralysis that is sapping public trust by preventing any Brexit outcome at all. After parliament refused Johnson his third demand for an election on Monday, he will try to force a bill through parliament on Tuesday that calls for a December 12 election. It needs a simple majority in parliament. "We will not allow this paralysis to continue and, one way or another, we must proceed straight to an election," Johnson told parliament on Monday. "This House cannot any longer keep this country hostage." Meanwhile, the legislation enacting Johnson's Brexit deal has been put on hold, pending an election, Jacob Rees-Mogg, who oversees the government's legislative agenda in the House of Commons, said. The first Christmas election in Britain since 1923 would be highly unpredictable: Brexit has variously fatigued and enraged swathes of voters while eroding traditional loyalties to the two major parties, Conservative and Labour. Ultimately, voters would have a choice between an emboldened Johnson pushing for his Brexit deal or a socialist government under Jeremy Corbyn renegotiating the deal before a referendum. If no party wins conclusively, the Brexit deadlock will continue. Christmas election? While almost all British politicians agree that an election is needed, Johnson's opponents want to inflict maximum political damage by preventing his last-minute deal from being ratified before the poll. Johnson, in turn, is trying to shift the blame for failing to deliver Brexit by October 31 on to parliament. Such is the lack of trust in parliament that lawmakers are squabbling about almost everything from the sequencing of Brexit to the date of the election. Behind the bickering, though, Johnson is closer to an election than he has ever been in his tumultuous 3-month premiership. Two opposition parties, the Liberal Democrats and Scottish National Party, want an election on December 9. "We won't accept any jiggery-pokery from the prime minister," Ian Blackford, the Scottish National Party's Westminster leader, said. "Our vote certainly can't be taken for granted." Corbyn, leader of the main opposition Labour Party, said on Monday he would "consider carefully" legislation which locked in an election date. Johnson's Conservatives are ahead of Labour by an average of about 10 percentage points in polls this month, though pollsters underestimated the support for Brexit in 2016 and admit that the models they use are wilting beside the Brexit furnace. When Johnson's predecessor, Theresa May, bet on a snap election in 2017, she lost her slender majority - a failure that ultimately prevented her from ratifying her Brexit deal and so sank her political career. In the June 23, 2016 referendum, 17.4 million voters, or 51.9 percent, backed leaving the EU while 16.1 million, or 48.1 percent, voted to remain.

Brexit election? Johnson makes fresh bid to break the deadlock

Britain's vital services sector shrank in March for the first time in almost three years, with activity slammed by Brexit turmoil and flat economic growth, a key survey showed Wednesday.

The purchasing managers' index (PMI) for services fell from 51.3 in February to 48.9 in March, according to IHS Markit, which compiles the data.

That was the lowest level since July 2016, which was one month after Britons voted in favour of leaving the European Union.

The figure below 50 in the index indicates that the service sector, which accounts for some 80 per cent of British gross domestic product, is in contraction.

"A drop in service sector activity indicates that UK GDP contracted in March, with the economy stalling over the first quarter as a whole and at risk of sliding into a deepening downturn in coming months," said Chris Williamson, a chief business economist at IHS Markit.

The sector is widely regarded as the engine of the British economy -- and any weakness can, therefore, slam the brakes on growth.&nbsp;

Britain's economy had already struggled in the fourth quarter of last year, with anaemic economic growth of just 0.2 per cent.

"Both the services and construction sectors are now in decline and manufacturing is only expanding because of emergency stockpiling ahead of Brexit," said Williamson.

He added that the underlying picture of demand is even worse than the headline numbers suggest.

"Service sector order books have contracted at the steepest rate since the height of the global financial crisis in 2009 so far this year, with companies reporting that Brexit uncertainty has dampened demand and led to cancelled or deferred spending, exacerbating a headwind from slower global economic growth," he said.

The March 2019 reading shocked economists because market expectations had been for a drop in the index -- which is regarded as a crucial barometer of UK business activity -- to 50.9.

"The latest UK services PMI makes it clear that the economy is being hit hard by all the uncertainty in surrounding Brexit," noted ING economist James Smith.

He added: "Of course, it's important to remember that PMIs don't always precisely reflect the extent of a slowdown, merely that an increasing number of firms are reporting worsening conditions.

"That said, this latest reading implies that the first quarter as a whole could see near-stagnant growth." 
&nbsp;

Britain's vital services sector shrank in March for the first time in almost three years, with activity slammed by Brexit turmoil and flat economic growth, a key survey showed Wednesday.

Britain's vital services sector shrank in March for the first time in almost three years, with activity slammed by Brexit turmoil and flat economic growth, a key survey showed Wednesday. The purchasing managers' index (PMI) for services fell from 51.3 in February to 48.9 in March, according to IHS Markit, which compiles the data. That was the lowest level since July 2016, which was one month after Britons voted in favour of leaving the European Union. The figure below 50 in the index indicates that the service sector, which accounts for some 80 per cent of British gross domestic product, is in contraction. "A drop in service sector activity indicates that UK GDP contracted in March, with the economy stalling over the first quarter as a whole and at risk of sliding into a deepening downturn in coming months," said Chris Williamson, a chief business economist at IHS Markit. The sector is widely regarded as the engine of the British economy -- and any weakness can, therefore, slam the brakes on growth. Britain's economy had already struggled in the fourth quarter of last year, with anaemic economic growth of just 0.2 per cent. "Both the services and construction sectors are now in decline and manufacturing is only expanding because of emergency stockpiling ahead of Brexit," said Williamson. He added that the underlying picture of demand is even worse than the headline numbers suggest. "Service sector order books have contracted at the steepest rate since the height of the global financial crisis in 2009 so far this year, with companies reporting that Brexit uncertainty has dampened demand and led to cancelled or deferred spending, exacerbating a headwind from slower global economic growth," he said. The March 2019 reading shocked economists because market expectations had been for a drop in the index -- which is regarded as a crucial barometer of UK business activity -- to 50.9. "The latest UK services PMI makes it clear that the economy is being hit hard by all the uncertainty in surrounding Brexit," noted ING economist James Smith. He added: "Of course, it's important to remember that PMIs don't always precisely reflect the extent of a slowdown, merely that an increasing number of firms are reporting worsening conditions. "That said, this latest reading implies that the first quarter as a whole could see near-stagnant growth."

UK's service sector shrinks for first time since July 2016: Data

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Brexit election? Johnson makes fresh bid to break the deadlock

UK's service sector shrinks for first time since July 2016: Data