The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Prime minister ‘will not’ ask for Brexit extension
On north-east Scotland visit, Boris Johnson says his strategy is to get a deal with the EU by using ‘powers of persuasion’
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he would not ask for an extension to the Brexit deadline, even if it was enshrined in UK law.
The Withdrawal Bill, which has proved a catastrophic headache for Mr Johnson in the House of Commons this week, is currently going through the House of Lords.
If, as expected, it passes, it would oblige the prime minister to write to the European Union to seek an extension on the Brexit deadline date, currently set for October 31.
Mr Johnson was in Scotland yesterday, where he toured the north east before meeting party members and Scottish Conservative politicians.
The party was dealt a second blow in a fortnight earlier this week after a YouGov poll suggested all but three Conservative Westminster seats would be taken from the party at the next election.
As part of Mr Johnson’s strategy to avoid having to extend the Brexit deadline he called a snap-election, which was subsequently defeated through a lack of support.
Mr Johnson will seek a second election vote on Monday.
Labour, the Lib Dems and the SNP said yesterday they would not back demands for a general election before a summit in Brussels scheduled for October 17.
Asked during his visit to a Kincardineshire farm yesterday if he would request an extension to the Brexit deadline if it became law, Mr Johnson said: “I will not. I do not want a delay.”
The prime minister, who had earlier visited a Peterhead fish market, said he would use the “power of persuasion” to get a deal with the EU.
Mr Johnson did not detail how the Irish backstop issue would be overcome, or what differences his new deal would have from predecessor Theresa May’s.
He said: “I am perplexed by the leader of the opposition and the SNP to run away from an election. I have never known an opposition in the history of democracy that has run away from an election.
“They do not trust the people will vote for them so they’re refusing to have an election.
“My strategy is to get a deal… with the powers of persuasion. I have heard several friends from across Europe, including French minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, say to me ‘what is the point in all this delay?’
“We will get a deal and we will come out.
“It is odd both Jeremy Corbyn and the SNP claim to be attached to democracy when their mission is to smash up the oldest and most successful political partnership in history, the Union.”
He spoke of “the very clear message sent in 2014 the referendum would be a once-in-a-lifetime event”, adding: “I see no reason to go back on that.
“Jeremy Corbyn and the SNP will break up the Union. Corbyn has said he would happily see the breakup of the Union.
“Alas, the Bill which is still before Parliament would mean the government of the UK would be obliged to write to Brussels asking for a delay to leaving the EU. People do not want that.
“It would give the EU the power for how long the UK would need to stay in.
“We have spent a long time trying to fudge this thing. The British people want out.”
Mr Johnson could trigger an election if he resigned but ruled out doing so.
“I said we had to deliver Brexit, unite the country and defeat Jeremy Corbyn. (I’ll resign) at some point after those three points have been accomplished,” he said.
He also praised Ruth Davidson and said he hoped she would return to frontline politics as the “fantastic example of modern Conservatism in practice”.
SNP MP Tommy Sheppard said of Mr Johnson’s visit: “This arrogant, dishonest prime minister has already shown how little respect he has for his own Parliament at Westminster.
“People in Scotland deserve a choice over their future rather than having Brexit imposed on us against our will by Westminster, and that opportunity – to stop Brexit and assert Scotland’s right to choose a better future with independence – will be at the heart of the coming election campaign.”