EU approves Brexit delay until Jan. 31 as PM Johnson pursues election

LONDON/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union agreed a three-month flexible delay on Monday to Britain’s exit from the bloc as Prime Minister Boris Johnson pushes for an election after opponents forced him to request an extension he had vowed never to ask for.

 Just days before the United Kingdom is formally due to leave the EU on Oct. 31 at 2300 GMT, Brexit is hanging in the balance, with British politicians no closer to reaching a consensus on how, when or even if the divorce should take place at all.

Johnson, who won the top job in July by vowing, “do or die”, to deliver Brexit on Oct. 31, was driven to request a postponement after he was defeated in parliament over the sequencing of the ratification of his divorce deal.