In the United Kingdom, members of parliament last week voted successfully to prevent Prime Minister Boris Johnson from beginning Brexit without a deal, with 21 MP's in Johnson's own party voting against their Conservative Party leader.
WGBH News Analyst Charlie Sennott explained the significance of this on Boston Public Radio on Monday, contrasting the move with U.S. politics.
"At least the Conservative Party in the U.K., those to the center and to the right, had the wisdom to say, 'No we're not going to have a hard Brexit, because it's really going to hurt the economy,'" Sennott said. "We don't see that stability nor wisdom from the Republican party in the United States Senate," Sennott said.
Johnson will have to ask for a Brexit delay due to the severe consequences that a no-deal Brexit would bring, Sennott said.
"A [no-deal Brexit] would mean the inability for medicines to be shipped in, long lines, food shortages, a health care crisis and a hard border imposed between Ireland and Northern Ireland — that is a recipe for a return to violence," he said. "It's just such a bad idea that even Boris Johnson in his foppish, casual way is not going to be able to bludgeon the country into it. Thank God there's still some braking mechanism within the Parliament that'll put an end to it."
Charlie Sennott is a WGBH News Analyst and executive director of The GroundTruth Project.