Bercow and Letwin plot to thwart the PM
Speaker colludes with Tory grandee from his summer holiday over ways to prevent proroguing of Parliament
Christopher Hope
Harry Yorke
JOHN BERCOW has been secretly colluding with Sir Oliver Letwin while on holiday in Turkey to stop Parliament being suspended for five weeks, The Daily Telegraph can disclose.
The House of Commons Speaker, who has described Boris Johnson’s decision to prorogue Parliament as a “constitutional outrage”, has been in contact with the Conservative MP this week to agree how to stop the Prime Minister’s plans.
The news came as David Gauke, the former justice secretary, said that next week could be MPS’ “only opportunity” to put a stop to a no-deal Brexit on Oct 31. Sir Oliver, David Cameron’s former policy guru, is understood to be working on several plans to seize control of parliamentary business and begin forcing through legislation to block no deal on Tuesday.
One option is to hold a symbolic vote opposing the suspension of Parliament. Last night Labour, with five other opposition parties, issued a statement demanding the vote.
If the MPS fail to pass the legislation, Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader, is holding in reserve the option of a confidence vote in the Government on Thursday, which could bring it down.
Last night two senior parliamentary sources said Mr Bercow, despite being out of the country, had been in contact this week with Sir Oliver about how to help Remain-supporting MPS frustrate Brexit next week.
One said: “There are conversations taking place today. Letwin is seeking advice; he is around because he is speaking to officials of the House”.
Another said Mr Bercow and Sir Oliver “have been talking on a regular basis and I don’t find that unusual or surprising”.
Sir Oliver, who was spotted in a deserted Houses of Parliament yesterday, is also understood to have been in regular contact with clerks in the Commons about his plans.
Prominent Remainers last night unveiled a detailed strategy for forcing through legislation to delay Brexit within a matter of days.
The plans, which are being spearheaded by Sir Oliver and Sir Keir Starmer, the shadow
Brexit secretary, include employing parliamentary devices never used before. They intend to push through a Bill requiring the Prime Minister to extend Article 50 by between three and six months, and will ask the Speaker on Tuesday to grant an emergency debate to get the process started.
Under the plan, both the Commons and House of Lords would also sit over the weekend from Sept 6 to 8, in order to make up the days lost through prorogation. MPS opposed to a no-deal exit fear Mr Johnson will enlist Brexiteer peers to hold up the legislation in the Lords through filibustering, knowing that if it is not approved before Parliament is suspended, it will be thrown out.
To counter this, Remainer peers intend to pass a business motion never used before in the Lords to set specific time limits for each stage of the Bill, thereby minimising the chances for delay. While unprecedented, David Cameron’s coalition government considered using a similar device when Labour peers threatened to filibuster legislation on boundary and voting reforms in 2011. This would allow Remainers to effectively replicate “guillotine” motions which are used in the Commons to accelerate legislation but which cannot be used by peers.
Last night Lord Falconer, the former justice secretary, told The Telegraph: “We have the means to stop a filibuster. We’ve never used it before, but we have also never been confronted with such a contemptuous action by a prime minister in modern times.
“Any attempt by the Government to filibuster … would be knocked back by the Lords with very little difficulty.” Other options open to Remainers in
clude using “silencing” motions to stop Brexiteer peers from being called to speak again, along with “closure” motions, which allow for debates to be terminated early and put to a vote.
Sir Oliver declined to comment when asked about his discussions with the Speaker. But a spokesman for Mr Bercow said: “[He] has always operated an open door policy and is happy to meet MPS from across the House representing a wide range of views.”
A spokesman for the House of Commons said: “It is common practice for clerks to provide advice to members on the drafting of many items of parliamentary business, such as Bills, motions and amendments.”
‘We have never been confronted with such a contemptuous action in modern times’