OH NO, NOT AGAIN!
Whitehall chiefs on alert for ANOTHER general election as No 10 draws up timetable for a SECOND referendum
Britain was on general election alert last night after Whitehall chiefs were ordered to draw up contingency plans for a snap poll.
amid the fragile situation in Westminster, the Cabinet Secretary told Government departmental heads to be ready in case an election is needed to break the Brexit deadlock.
Sir Mark Sedwill met mandarins this week to discuss preparations in case theresa May decides to go to the country.
Yesterday, it also emerged that official guidance has now been drawn up on the possible timeline for a second Brexit referendum.
a document, apparently presented at cross-party Brexit talks, suggested that another referendum would take 15 months to arrange and hold.
no 10 has repeatedly insisted the next election will not take place until 2022, as mandated by the Fixed terms Parliament act.
Only this week, the Prime Minister told MPs that holding a ballot now would be ‘the worst thing we could do’, with some tories fearing that the party would lose seats to Labour and hand the keys to no 10 to Jeremy Corbyn. But Cabinet ministers have held conversations about how an election may now be the only way to move forward, with one warning a poll is ‘on the way’.
Despite the failure of its attempt to oust the Government this week, Labour has also not ruled out the possibility of repeatedly tabling no-confidence motions in a bid to topple Mrs May.
But an election might receive a weary reaction from voters. When Mrs May called the 2017 snap election, the news elicited the immortal response from one voter, Brenda from Bristol: ‘ You’re joking! not another one!’
as the aftershocks of the Brexit deal defeat continued yesterday:
Mr Corbyn faced a backlash as he ordered his MPs to snub crossparty talks to break the impasse;
Chancellor Philip Hammond came under fire from Eurosceptic tories after saying that the ‘threat’ of leaving without a deal could be taken ‘off the table’;
it was announced that Mrs May will publish a new Brexit plan on Monday with a full debate and key vote scheduled for January 29.
German business chiefs have warned that a no-deal Brexit would be catastrophic for their country.
Civil servants across Whitehall have been ordered to prepare for the possibility of an election.
the Daily Mail has learnt that officials have begun exercises looking at what needs to happen if there is a vote, such as rushing through final pieces of legislation before Parliament is dissolved.
Sir Mark, who was appointed Cabinet Secretary in October, held a meeting with permanent secretaries this week to talk about how they needed to be ready in the event of all scenarios.
and on Wednesday former tory leader William Hague told City figures he believed the Brexit crisis may lead to a snap poll.
Labour has launched a fundraising drive to prepare for the possibility of a poll.
Meanwhile, the tories have begun selecting candidates in dozens of seats, although sources said this was part of the normal process.
an election could be triggered if rebel tory MPs and the Democratic Unionist Party choose the nuclear option and – in alliance with opposition parties – collapse the Government by voting it down under the Fixed term Parliaments act.
alternatively, the Prime Minister could decide there is no way forward on Brexit with the current parliamentary arithmetic and ask MPs to bring about a fresh vote. if an election is called, it is likely that the two-year article 50 process for leaving the EU would have to be extended beyond March 29.
Last night a Cabinet Office spokesman said: ‘the Cabinet Secretary frequently meets with permanent secretaries to discuss a wide range of issues.’
Yesterday Mrs May – who has repeatedly ruled out ever staging a second referendum – shared civil service advice on the issue during talks with opposition MPs.
the revelation is the first acknowledgement that Government officials have carried out work on how a second vote might be held. But the projected timetable, which suggests it would take 15 months to arrange and hold a second referendum, angered some remain campaigners. no 10 confirmed that officials had prepared a ‘ short paper’ on how a second referendum might work, in anticipation of it being raised by opposition MPs.
a spokesman for the PM insisted the document did not suggest Mrs May was planning for – or even considering – a second referendum. the document set out the potential timetable, including seven months to pass the necessary legislation, 12 weeks for the Electoral Commission to test the question and 16 weeks for the campaign.
Mrs May faces a walkout by ministers, an MP claims, unless she agrees to hand the Commons the potential power to end the possibility of no Deal.
nick Boles said up to 20 ministers are ready to resign if she tells them to vote against an amendment that gives MPs more power over the Brexit agenda. Most are middleranking and junior ministers, he said. Some Cabinet ministers are also said to be unhappy.
the Commons will vote on the amendment, along with the Prime Minister’s Brexit Plan B, on January 29. it is being put down by a crossparty group of senior MPs and it would suspend standing orders that give the Government control over the timetable of the House.
that would allow cross-party groups to pass laws of their own if they can command a majority. Mr Boles said: ‘this is gathering greater momentum across the House.’
‘The worst thing we could do’