Opposition in disarray as it faces third chance to support a poll
Labour refuses to say if it will back an election even if the EU grants a Brexit extension until January
LABOUR was in disarray last night as Jeremy Corbyn refused to say whether he would back an election next week – even if Brussels granted a three-month Brexit delay.
The Labour leader said he would only back a poll if “no-deal has been taken off the table” but refused to say whether Brussels granting a delay until Jan 31 would satisfy his demands.
He also declined to say whether Labour would back the Prime Minister’s motion, due on Monday, that would see an election held on Dec 12.
However, just minutes beforehand, it emerged that Labour MPS had received an email from the party’s whips office ordering them to abstain, meaning Mr Johnson’s request is likely to be rejected. Under the Fixed-term Parliaments Act, the motion requires a two-thirds majority to carry.
It means Labour will have turned down the opportunity to go back to the country three times in two months, despite Mr Corbyn’s repeated assertions that forcing an election is his number one priority. Jacob Rees-mogg, the Commons leader, said that “however much time we give [Labour] they will come up with some foolish objection”.
Sir Patrick Mcloughlin, the former Tory chairman, said: “The Prime Minister has got a deal, no-deal is off the table and yet, for some reason, the Opposition still doesn’t want a general election.
“But we know why this is, we know why they won’t have an election, it’s because they’re afraid of the voters.” Mr Johnson wrote to the Labour leader to inform him that he would push for an election on Monday. The Prime Minister said he would take up Labour’s offer of a new timetable to get his Brexit deal through Parliament, and would give MPS until Nov 6 to ratify it.
His strategy has been hailed as a “win-win” by Government sources, who believe it enables the party to head into an election having delivered Brexit or, should MPS block it, accuse Mr Corbyn of trying to reverse the referendum result.
The Labour leader summoned several members of his shadow cabinet for an emergency meeting, where it is understood he was told not to “play” into Mr Johnson’s hands. That was echoed last night by dozens of Labour MPS, many of whom lined up to urge Mr Corbyn to vote down the motion. Yet a number of Mr Corbyn’s closest allies are in favour of holding an election.
They include several shadow cabinet ministers, one of whom told The Daily Telegraph: “If they [the Conservatives] don’t deliver Brexit by Oct 31 they lose their lead due to the split with the Brexit Party.”
Valerie Vaz, the shadow leader of the House, told MPS that Labour would only back an election “once no-deal is ruled out and if the extension allows”. The Liberal Democrats, SNP and Plaid Cymru also refused to back the plan.
Ms Vaz also appeared to reject Mr Johnson’s deadline of Nov 6, claiming that he had rejected Labour’s offer of a “proper timetable”. But Ms Vaz’s statement suggests that Labour is preparing to block the request on the grounds that, under the Fixed-term Parliaments Act, Mr Johnson could later push back the date until after an extension had expired. This would allow him to force a no-deal Brexit during an election campaign, when Parliament is not sitting.
John Mcdonnell, the shadow chancellor, told reporters that Labour “can’t trust Boris Johnson as far as you’d like to throw him”.