Voters will blame Parliament for Brexit delay, poll finds

THE public will blame Parliament, Remain MPS and Brussels more than Boris Johnson if Brexit is delayed, a poll has found, as Britain last night edged closer to a general election.

In a boost for the Prime Minister as he comes under increasing pressure to extend Article 50, the Comres survey for The Daily Telegraph found that just over half of voters (56 per cent) would blame Mr Johnson if Brexit does not happen on Oct 31. More than eight in 10 (83 per cent) said they would blame Parliament, 70 per cent would hold Remain MPS responsible and nearly two thirds (63 per cent) would point the finger at the European Commission.

It comes after it emerged Jeremy Corbyn had been given the green light to meet the Civil Service to run through his policies – a sign of a looming general election. Mr Johnson has signed off Labour’s request to meet Sir Mark Sedwill, the Cabinet Secretary, to discuss a potential transition to government if Mr Corbyn gets into No10.

Yesterday, Scotland’s Court of Session dismissed a legal effort to force the Prime Minister to comply with the socalled Benn Act, branded the “Surrender Act” by Downing Street, aimed at making the Government delay Brexit in the event of a no-deal.

In what was dubbed a “pyrrhic victory” for Mr Johnson, Lord Pentland said there was no need for “coercive orders” – because there could be “no doubt” that the Prime Minister had already agreed to abide by the law, after Government documents were submitted to the court agreeing that he would send a letter asking for an extension if he fails to secure a new agreement with Brussels by Oct 19.

With both sides currently in deadlock, Mr Johnson could face a ballot as early as next month having been forced to renege on his “do or die” pledge to deliver Brexit in 23 days’ time.

The poll findings suggest he would have substantial public backing – particularly among Tory and Brexit Party voters – if he tries to blame the “establishment” for forcing him to ask for an extension. The survey found that both Leavers and Remainers blamed

Parliament ahead of anyone else for the Brexit impasse, on 94 per cent and 79 per cent respectively.

If the EU does not agree to a deal by the end of the month, the poll found 42 per cent would agree with leaving the EU without a deal (40 per cent disagreed) while just 32 per cent would agree with extending Article 50 (43 per cent disagreed) and only 36 per cent agree that the Prime Minister should resign (45 per cent disagreed).

Comres’s latest voting intention puts the Conservatives on 33 per cent, six percentage points ahead of Labour on 27 per cent. The Liberal Democrats are two percentage points up on 22 per cent while the Brexit Party remains on 13 per cent. If the parties were to achieve these vote shares at a general election, it would result in the Tories winning an eight-seat majority, according to Electoral Calculus.

By law, Parliament has to be dissolved 25 working days before a general election, with some MPS now expecting a public ballot in late November or early December.

Last night, Lord Kerslake, the former head of the Civil Service who has been advising Labour on its plans for government, welcomed the formal start of talks.

He said: “It is right that the Government has agreed to access talks, because an election is going to come very soon.”

Yet in a sign of the growing confusion over Labour’s EU stance, the poll found that two thirds of voters (66 per cent) said that the party’s Brexit policy remains a mystery to them.

Opposition leaders met yesterday but failed to agree a course of action as they continued to argue over who could lead an interim government.

Labour has rejected Lib Dem calls for Ken Clarke, the Father of the House; or Margaret Beckett, briefly the acting Labour leader after John Smith’s death in 1994, to lead a government of “national unity”.

Meanwhile Jo Swinson, the Lib Dem leader, said last night: “Jeremy Corbyn doesn’t have the numbers to command a majority, and until he accepts that fact he could end up being the biggest block to stopping a no-deal Brexit.”

One of the 21 Conservative rebel MPS said of Mr Corbyn: “You can’t live with him; you can’t live without him.”

As the “Remain alliance” talks stalled, the Government will today release a set of no-deal planning papers, on the last day of Parliament before it is suspended.

The Comres poll surveyed 2,006 British adults from Oct 4-6 2019.