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The decision to leave the government has plunged Boris Johnson's administration into further uncertainty after a series of stinging defeats in Parliament. Opponents of Boris Johnson have united in recent days, claiming that his plans for a no-deal Brexit would crash the U.K. economy.

The prime minister had promised to leave the EU with or without a deal by Oct. 31, but British lawmakers voted to rule out a no-deal Brexit, which could force Johnson to go back to EU leaders and ask for a humiliating extension.

In response, Boris Johnson, 55, called for a general election, which was rejected Wednesday evening by lawmakers. That decision leaves the current administration in a position of political paralysis.

That was the third defeat for Johnson's embattled government in as many days. Boris Johnson also expelled several members of his own Conservative Party who voted against him on Wednesday. The political turmoil saw 21 Conservative members of Parliament expelled from the party, including Sir Nicholas Soames, the grandson of Britain’s World War II leader Winston Churchill. The turmoil has left the government without a majority to effectively govern.

The family fallout is reminiscent of a previous brotherly dispute in U.K. politics, when lawmaker Ed Miliband was accused of stabbing his brother David in the back to become Labour Party leader in 2010.

Brexit had been the former Prime Minister Theresa May's undoing, as she resigned after being compelled by lawmakers to extend the previous deadline of March 31.

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