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EU leaders set to offer Boris Johnson three-month Brexit extension

Matt Honeycombe-Foster — Mon, 28 Oct 2019 08:43:58 +0000

The European Union is preparing to grant Britain a flexible three-month Brexit extension, according to a leaked draft of an agreement set to be signed off by Brussels.

French President Emmanuel Macron had been pushing for a short extension of around two weeks. -Credit: PA

A paper being circulated among member states, seen by The Guardian, would allow the UK to stay in the EU until 31 January 2020 – but would leave open the option of quitting the bloc earlier if MPs ratify Boris Johnson’s deal.

The Prime Minister requested an extension to the existing 31 October deadline earlier this month after MPs toughened up a law requiring him to do so if no agreement had been signed off by the Commons.

According to the leaked text, the UK would be able to leave the bloc on the first day of the month after a deal is approved.

“The period provided for in article 50 (3) TEU as extended by the European council decision (EU) 2019/584 is hereby further extended until 31 January 2020,” it states.

The document adds: “In the event that the parties to that agreement complete their respective ratification procedures and notify the depositary of the completion of these procedures in November 2019, in December 2019 or in January 2020, the withdrawal agreement will enter into force respectively on [the first of the month of the relevant month].”

The text – which is expected to be formally signed off on Monday – follows days of EU wrangling over the length of any further Brexit extension.

French President Emmanuel Macron had been pushing for a short extension of around two weeks in an attempt to put pressure on British MPs to back Mr. Johnson’s agreement.

But European Council President Donald Tusk, who has held intensive talks with EU capitals over the weekend, made the case for a longer extension.

If approved, the extension could raise the prospect of a snap general election by shutting down the possibility of a no-deal Brexit on 31 October.

Labour has so far signaled its opposition to the 12 December poll demanded by the PM, arguing that they will not do so until a no-deal Brexit is “off the table”.

MPs will be given a vote on his election bid on Monday, but it is unlikely to get the two-thirds majority – 434 votes – it needs under the Fixed Term Parliaments Act.

However, Number 10 has made clear it will “look at” an alternative joint SNP-Lib Dem plan for a Commons vote on Tuesday on whether to have an election on 9 December instead.

Source: https://www.politicshome.com/news/uk/political-parties/conservative-party/boris-johnson/news/107576/eu-leaders-set-offer-boris

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Brexit: Boris Johnson defeated as MPs take control

BBC — Tue, 03 Sep 2019 06:22:42 +0000

Tory rebels and opposition MPs have defeated the government in the first stage of their attempt to pass a law designed to prevent a no-deal Brexit.

The Commons voted 328 to 301 to take control of the agenda, meaning they can bring forward a bill seeking to delay the UK’s exit date.

In response, Boris Johnson said he would bring forward a motion for an early general election.

Jeremy Corbyn said the bill should be passed before an election was held.

In total, 21 Tory MPs, including a number of ex-cabinet ministers, joined opposition parties to defeat the government.

After the vote, Downing Street said those Tory MPs who rebelled would have the whip removed, effectively expelling them from the parliamentary party.

No 10 had hoped the threat of expulsion – and an election – would bring would-be rebels into line.

The longest-serving of the Tory rebels, ex-chancellor Ken Clarke, told BBC Newsnight he was still “a mainstream Conservative” but he didn’t recognize his party anymore.

The “knockabout character” of the prime minister had “the most right-wing cabinet a Conservative government has ever produced”, he said.

The prime minister said the MPs’ bill would “hand control” of Brexit negotiations to the EU and bring “more dither, more delay, more confusion”.

He told MPs he had no choice but to press ahead with efforts to call an October election, adding: “The people of this country will have to choose.”

The result means the MPs will be able to take control of Commons business on Wednesday.

That will give them the chance to introduce a cross-party bill which would force the prime minister to ask for Brexit to be delayed until 31 January, unless MPs approve a new deal, or vote in favour of a no-deal exit, by 19 October.

The BBC understands the government intends to hold an election on 15 October, two days before a crucial EU summit in Brussels.

To call an election under the Fixed-term Parliaments Act, Mr. Johnson would need support from Labour as he requires the backing of two-thirds of the UK’s 650 MPs.

But Mr. Corbyn said the legislation backed by opposition MPs and Tory rebels should pass before any election was held, to “take no-deal off the table”.

He added: “There is no majority to leave without a deal within the country”.

Shadow justice secretary Richard Burgon said he did not trust Boris Johnson not to call an election for mid-October and then change the date afterward.

He said the prime minister could “change the date so that during the general election campaign we crash out of the European Union with a no-deal”.

“We want it bolting down that a no-deal Brexit can’t occur, and once that’s done, we want a general election as soon as possible,” he told the BBC.

The BBC’s chief political correspondent, Vicki Young, said the government was framing the situation as the Labour leader trying to block Brexit, and that would be its argument going into a general election.

Could the Commons defeat be a benefit to PM?

It’s hard to know where to start sometimes.

The pace and gravity of events in Westminster this week is both monumental and dizzying.

A prime minister has lost his wafer of a majority.

But some close to the prime minister believe that from this crisis comes an opportunity – to close the unfinished business of the referendum result in 2016, with the Tory party, at last, being the bearers of a crystal-clear message on Brexit.

It’s a measure of how upside-down the political norms are – that the prime minister losing his first vote in office is considered by some of his allies as a benefit.

Brexit: Boris Johnson paves way for snap election

Michael Settle — Mon, 02 Sep 2019 21:35:13 +0000

Johnson: ‘There are no circumstances in which I will ask Brussels to delay’

BORIS Johnson has raised the stakes over Brexit, paving the way for a general election on Monday, October 14.

He made clear that if MPs backed a move to block a no-deal Brexit today, he would call a Commons vote within 24 hours to authorize a snap poll.

The Prime Minister stressed he did not want an election but warned progress in the talks with the EU would be made “absolutely impossible” if the so-called Rebel Alliance won the vote, expected this evening, to take control of the Commons agenda on Wednesday and “chop the legs out from under the UK’s position”.

Addressing the nation from behind a lectern in Downing Street, Mr. Johnson declared: “I want everyone to know there are no circumstances in which I will ask Brussels to delay. We are leaving on October 31; no ifs no buts. We will not accept any attempt to go back on our promises or scrub that referendum.”

ANALYSIS: Boris Johnson’s big gamble – if rebels take control of Commons, he will seek to call Oct 14 election

As many as 20 Tory rebels are set to join forces with Labour, the SNPand the Liberal Democrats to bring forward a bill designed to stop the UK leaving the EU on October 31 without an agreement.

Under the terms of the proposed law, the Government would have to seek a delay to the UK’s EU withdrawal until January 31, 2020, if there were no agreement with Brussels by October 19 and Parliament had not approved a no-deal Brexit.

Sir Keir Starmer, the Shadow Brexit Secretary, said it could be the UK Parliament’s “last chance” to stop a “reckless and damaging” no-deal Brexit.

After an emergency Cabinet was unexpectedly called, rumors swirled around Westminster that Mr. Johnson was about to announce a snap election. The appearance of the lectern seemed to confirm that a major announcement was about to be made.

To a chorus of “stop no-deal” from protesters outside the Downing St gates, the PM emerged to insist progress was being made with Brussels and UK negotiators had to be allowed to get on with their work without interference from Westminster.

“And without an election,” he declared. “I don’t want an election and you don’t want an election. Let us get on with the people’s agenda, fighting crime, improving the NHS, boosting schools, cutting the cost of living, and unlocking talent and opportunity across the entire United Kingdom with infrastructure, education, and technology.

“It is a massive agenda. Let’s come together and get it done and let’s get Brexit done by October 31,” he added.

The initial reaction from political opponents suggested Mr. Johnson had “bottled it”.

Tom Watson, the Deputy Labour leader, tweeted: “What was that @BorisJohnson statement all about? His press people had spun that he’d threaten to call an election. Has he changed his mind? More hot air, again.”

Nicola Sturgeon claimed it was “plainly obvious” from the PM’s statement that he had no plan to get a Brexit deal.

“If MPs blink tomorrow,” said the First Minister, “he will drive the UK off the no-deal cliff on October 31. He must not get away with it.”

The Greens’ Caroline Lucas said: “More bluster from Boris Johnson outside No 10. The truth is he’s about to lose this week’s vote in Parliament and is running scared.”

READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon in heated argument with Piers Morgan on Good Morning Britain

But, later, a senior official explained that Mr. Johnson would request a general election on October 14 if MPs backed the cross-party move to seize control of Commons business on Tuesday.

A motion for the early election would be tabled by the Government; it would require the support of two-thirds of MPs under the provisions of the Fixed Term Parliaments Act.

MPs, said the official in a clear message to Tory rebels, would be faced with a “simple choice”; keeping the current PM negotiating a Brexit deal or handing the process over to Mr. Corbyn.

He made clear the Rebel Alliance’s vote to extend Brexit would be treated as a vote of no-confidence in the Johnson Government and that any Conservative MP voting for it would have the whip removed.

“If they vote tomorrow to wreck the negotiation process, to go against giving Britain the ability to negotiate a deal, then they’ll also have to reflect on what comes next,” insisted the official.

He claimed voting to block a no-deal outcome would “destroy” Britain’s negotiating position with Brussels.

“I cannot stress enough; this is what is coming out of Brussels, this is what is coming out of EU leaders.”

The senior source declared: “Tory MPs voting for this motion tomorrow will essentially be taking the Government’s control of the legislative agenda and handing it over to the Opposition; the Opposition led by Jeremy Corbyn.”

He said the motion on an early election would be published before MPs voted on Tuesday so they would know the consequences of their actions.

“If MPs were to vote tomorrow to take control of the order paper, so destroy the Government’s negotiating position, to make it impossible for the UK to negotiate a deal with Brussels, then the vote would then move to a…vote, which I would expect to bring about a general election.

“If you were to have any chance of securing a deal, which the PM has been very clear that he wants the deal, you would want to have that election on October 14 so that you can go to European Council and secure a deal.”

The Council summit meeting of EU leaders on October 17 is seen as the last chance to achieve an agreement before the Hallowe’en deadline.

But a source close the group of rebel Conservative MPs opposed to a no-deal Brexit said: “It’s a bit rich for the Prime Minister to point the finger at colleagues who plan to defy the party whip – colleagues who voted for a deal three times – while he voted with Jeremy Corbyn to inflict the two biggest parliamentary defeats on a government in British history.

“The Prime Minister seems to be doing everything he can to bring about an election while claiming it’s the last thing he wants,” he added.

Mr. Johnson’s Downing St statement came as Tory MPs enjoyed a reception in the gardens of No 10; after being ordered to hand in their phones.

Earlier, the PM was accused of “goading” some Tory MPs to rebel so he could force a snap general election having ejected opponents of a no-deal Brexit from the party.

“They seem to be quite prepared for there to be a rebellion, then to purge those who support the rebellion from the party,” said David Gauke, the former Justice Secretary.

Mr. Corbyn, who called a meeting of his Shadow Cabinet in Salford to discuss tactics, said: “First we must come together to stop no-deal; this week could be our last chance.

“We are working with other parties to do everything necessary to pull our country back from the brink. Then we need a general election.”

He will be joined by other opposition leaders in Westminster – including the SNP’s Ian Blackford and Liberal Democrat Jo Swinson – for further talks about their approach on Tuesday.

Mr. Blackford said SNP MPs were standing ready for the “parliamentary fight of their lives to prevent a catastrophic no-deal Brexit”.

Source: https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/17876321.boris-johnson-raises-brexit-stakes-paves-way-snap-election-october-14/

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