EU JUST WAIT
PM’S THREAT FALLS FLAT ON ITS FACE Johnson dangles in election limbo as ambassadors mull over Brexit date
BRUSSELS threw Boris Johnson into election limbo last night after diplomats failed to agree on whether to grant Britain a Brexit extension.
The Prime Minister was forced to make a humiliating climbdown on his threat to hold Parliament hostage if he doesn’t get his way.
Ambassadors are expected to continue working over the weekend but won’t announce their decision on an extension until Monday or Tuesday.
That could prove to be too late for Johnson, who will ask MPs to vote for Christmas election at the beginning of the week.
Johnson has called on opposition parties to agree to an election on December 12, in return for which he’d grant a couple more days to scrutinise his Brexit bill.
Jeremy Corbyn has refused to be
BY MIKE SMITH bounced into backing an election vote, saying he wouldn’t agree to a poll unless no deal was off the table.
He told ITV’s This Morning: “I’ve said all along – take no deal off the table, and we’ll have the election.”
A relaxed-looking Corbyn also said he would prefer the election to take place on a different date.
He said: “The 12th of December date is really odd for many reasons. It’s so near Christmas, it’s after universities have ended their terms.”
Asked if he would prefer an election next year, Corbyn said: “Maybe before that, before December 12.”
And asked how long people will have to wait for
Johnson to back down, Corbyn said: “Probably a couple of days.” But Johnson refused to budge on his demands, saying Corbyn should “man up” and agree to an election. In Milton Keynes, the PM claimed Labour was “split from top to bottom” on whether to hold an election. He said: “We have got Momentum, who back part of the Jeremy Corbyn enterprise, saying they want an election. And then you have got loads of MPs led by guys like Keir Starmer and Tom Watson who don’t seem to want an election. Time for
Corbyn – man up.” It’s the second time Johnson has used gendered insults towards the Labour leader, after calling him a “big girl’s blouse” last month.
But the bullish PM was forced to make a screeching U-turn on his threat to hold Parliament hostage if MPs won’t back an election.
His spokesman claimed on Thursday night only a “bare minimum” of work would come before Parliament.
But just hours later, yesterday morning, Johnson backtracked, saying: “We are going to be governing in the interest of the country,.”
It follows reports some Tory MPs were furious at the idea of the Government going “on strike”, fearing it would spark a backlash from voters.