<p class="title">Britain's freshly-elected parliament prepared on Friday to move past years of partisan wrangling and initially approve Prime Minister Boris Johnson's divorce deal with the European Union.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The all-but-certain outcome in the House of Commons will help Johnson meet his winning campaign promise to "get Brexit done" at any cost on January 31.</p>.<p class="bodytext">But it will also push London and Brussels closer to another cliff edge that might disrupt decades of unfettered trade at the end of 2020.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Last week's polls put Johnson's Conservatives in control of parliament and dispelled doubts over whether Britain was to become the first nation to leave the EU.</p>.<p class="bodytext">A final vote on Johnson's separation terms will come when lawmakers return from their Christmas break early next month.</p>.<p class="bodytext">But Britain will enter the holiday season closer to legal and economic independence than it has been at any point since the 2016 Brexit referendum.</p>.<p class="bodytext">And Johnson has the freedom and power to shape Britain's future that his predecessor Theresa May never had during her troubled three-year term.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"A new golden age for this United Kingdom is now within reach," Johnson told parliament at its inaugural session on Thursday.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Britain is "taking back control of our money, laws, borders and trade and clearing the way for our overarching programme of national renewal," he said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The healthy margin appeared to remove the possibility of more months of political uncertainty and chaos -- and of Britain crashing out of the bloc without any arrangements for what comes next.</p>.<p class="bodytext">But the pound fell back to its pre-election levels when Johnson introduced a series of small but potentially consequential changes into the official Withdrawal Agreement Bill.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Britain's formal departure on January 31 had been due to be followed by an 11-month transition period during which things would stay pretty much as they are now.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The sides are supposed to use the time to negotiate a comprehensive new agreement covering everything from trade to security and data protection.</p>.<p class="bodytext">EU officials warn that such deals usually take years to hammer out.</p>.<p class="bodytext">But Johnson ruled out the possibility of asking for a deadline extension in the version of the bill before parliament on Friday.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"A Minister of the Crown may not agree... to an extension of the implementation period," the bill now says.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Analysts note that little prevents Johnson from pushing a new law through parliament removing that firm deadline should negotiations veer dangerously off track.</p>.<p class="bodytext">It also puts psychological pressure on European officials to back off some of their stiffer demands on London and seek a limited deal that leaves some big issues unresolved.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"The UK could get a (free trade agreement) done with the EU by end of 2020," May's former Brexit adviser Raoul Ruparel said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"But it would be a narrow and shallow one."</p>.<p class="bodytext">The EU's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said on Tuesday that the bloc "will do the maximum" to meet the end-of-2020 deadline.</p>
<p class="title">Britain's freshly-elected parliament prepared on Friday to move past years of partisan wrangling and initially approve Prime Minister Boris Johnson's divorce deal with the European Union.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The all-but-certain outcome in the House of Commons will help Johnson meet his winning campaign promise to "get Brexit done" at any cost on January 31.</p>.<p class="bodytext">But it will also push London and Brussels closer to another cliff edge that might disrupt decades of unfettered trade at the end of 2020.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Last week's polls put Johnson's Conservatives in control of parliament and dispelled doubts over whether Britain was to become the first nation to leave the EU.</p>.<p class="bodytext">A final vote on Johnson's separation terms will come when lawmakers return from their Christmas break early next month.</p>.<p class="bodytext">But Britain will enter the holiday season closer to legal and economic independence than it has been at any point since the 2016 Brexit referendum.</p>.<p class="bodytext">And Johnson has the freedom and power to shape Britain's future that his predecessor Theresa May never had during her troubled three-year term.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"A new golden age for this United Kingdom is now within reach," Johnson told parliament at its inaugural session on Thursday.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Britain is "taking back control of our money, laws, borders and trade and clearing the way for our overarching programme of national renewal," he said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The healthy margin appeared to remove the possibility of more months of political uncertainty and chaos -- and of Britain crashing out of the bloc without any arrangements for what comes next.</p>.<p class="bodytext">But the pound fell back to its pre-election levels when Johnson introduced a series of small but potentially consequential changes into the official Withdrawal Agreement Bill.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Britain's formal departure on January 31 had been due to be followed by an 11-month transition period during which things would stay pretty much as they are now.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The sides are supposed to use the time to negotiate a comprehensive new agreement covering everything from trade to security and data protection.</p>.<p class="bodytext">EU officials warn that such deals usually take years to hammer out.</p>.<p class="bodytext">But Johnson ruled out the possibility of asking for a deadline extension in the version of the bill before parliament on Friday.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"A Minister of the Crown may not agree... to an extension of the implementation period," the bill now says.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Analysts note that little prevents Johnson from pushing a new law through parliament removing that firm deadline should negotiations veer dangerously off track.</p>.<p class="bodytext">It also puts psychological pressure on European officials to back off some of their stiffer demands on London and seek a limited deal that leaves some big issues unresolved.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"The UK could get a (free trade agreement) done with the EU by end of 2020," May's former Brexit adviser Raoul Ruparel said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"But it would be a narrow and shallow one."</p>.<p class="bodytext">The EU's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said on Tuesday that the bloc "will do the maximum" to meet the end-of-2020 deadline.</p>