Johnson demands election
PM tables motion to go to the polls as Remainer MPS seize control in bid to thwart his Brexit plans
BORIS JOHNSON was last night forced into seeking a snap general election after falling victim to an unprecedented parliamentary coup aimed at delaying Brexit.
He lost his first vote as Prime Minister by 328 to 301, a majority of 27 votes, and said he would move the vote for an election if Parliament today opts in favour of a Bill to delay Brexit until Jan 31.
Twenty-one Tories rebelled, including two former chancellors.
Mr Johnson said: “Let there be no doubt about the consequences of this vote tonight. It means that Parliament is on the brink of wrecking any deal we might be able to strike in Brussels because [today’s] Bill would hand control of the negotiations to the EU, and that would mean more dither, more delay, more confusion...i don’t want an election but if MPS vote tomorrow to stop the negotiations and to compel another pointless delay of Brexit, potentially for years, then that will be the only way to resolve this.”
The Prime Minister will today ask MPS to approve plans for an election on Tuesday Oct 15 so that voters can settle the question of UK-EU relations once and for all.
Jeremy Corbyn said he was “absolutely ready” to fight an election but indicated he would vote for one only if Labour’s Bill was passed.
He said: “[The Prime Minister] wants to table a motion for a general election – fine. Get the Bill through first in order to take no-deal off the table.”
On a day of extraordinary Tory bloodletting, some of the most senior Conservative MPS were expelled from the party for rebelling, including former chancellors Kenneth Clarke and Philip Hammond, and Sir Nicholas Soames, the grandson of Boris Johnson’s great hero, Winston Churchill.
All 21 of the rebels have had the Tory whip removed. All but one is a former minister and they include five members of Theresa May’s last Cabinet – Mr Hammond, Greg Clark, David Gauke, Caroline Nokes and Rory Stewart. It means the Conservatives now have just 289 MPS, compared with 317 immediately after the 2017 election.
The Tory rebels were accused by Jacob Rees-mogg, the Leader of the Commons, of “stunning arrogance” in believing that they had a right to thwart the wishes of 17.4million Leave voters.
He added that they “fail to understand where sovereignty comes from”, as it was the British people, not Parliament, who have the final say.
The rebellion represented the biggest Tory split since the 1992 Maastricht Treaty, with warnings that the repercussions will be felt for 30 years or more. The vote came at the end of a momentous day that started with Mr Hammond suggesting the Prime Minister was being advised by people who “care nothing about the future of the Conservative party” and during which Mr Johnson lost his parliamentary majority when Dr Phillip Lee crossed the floor to join the Liberal Democrats.
However, Mr Johnson’s election gamble appeared to be paying off after a poll showed the Tories extending their lead over Labour to 10 points.
Yougov found 35 per cent of voters intend to back the Tories, with Labour on 25 per cent, the Lib Dems on 16 per cent and the Brexit Party on 11 per cent. The Tories’ lead over Labour has grown by two points in the past week.
MPS last night voted to seize control of parliamentary business from 3pm today, enabling them to vote on a Labour plan to force Mr Johnson to seek a Brexit extension until at least Jan 31 if he cannot agree a new deal. It includes a demand that he would accept any extension, of any length, offered by the EU, which Mr Johnson says would enable Brussels to dictate Brexit policy and keep Britain in the EU indefinitely.
He described the proposal as “Jeremy Corbyn’s surrender Bill – it means running up the white flag”. He said: “I will never surrender the control of our negotiations in the way the Leader of the Opposition is demanding. This House has never before voted to force the Prime Minister to surrender such a crucial decision to the discretion of our friends and neighbours overseas.”
Under the terms of the Fixed Term Parliament Act (FTPA), Mr Johnson needs two thirds of MPS to vote in favour of an early election. It remains unclear whether Labour will vote in favour after Nick Brown, the party’s chief whip, said it would try to block Mr Johnson’s move, and Emily Thornberry, the shadow foreign secretary, said: “We’re not going to vote for it because we have to make sure this legislation [blocking no-deal] has been embedded”.
If Mr Johnson fails to get sufficient votes, government sources said he would be prepared to table a Bill amending the FTPA, which would need only a simple majority to allow for a poll next month.
His “Plan B” would almost certainly be successful as the SNP has said it wants a snap election, describing it as a “fantastic opportunity” for it to demand a second independence referendum. He decided to move the proposed date for the election as the original date of Oct 14 clashed with a Jewish festival.
Tory peers hope to filibuster the Labour Bill, tabled by Hilary Benn, by tabling 90 amendments. By holding an election on Oct 15, however, Mr Johnson could repeal any such legislation if he was returned with a majority.
His spokesman said another delay would cost about £1 billion a month paid to the EU for an extension, which was “very clearly in Brussels’ interests, not in the British interest”.