Brexit: MPs vote against Boris Johnson motion for early poll
British MPs once more reject Boris Johnson’s demand for an early election, meaning it can’t be held until late November.
British MPs have once more rejected Boris Johnson’s demand for an early election.
MPs supported the motion 293 to 46 but Mr Johnson was still 141 MPs short of the 434 he needed to call a general election. Under the Fixed Term Parliament Act the motion needed a two thirds majority to pass, but with mass abstentions, the numbers could not get that high.
It means the next general election can’t take place until well after October 31, the current Brexit deadline.
Mr Johnson said he was disappointed at the result but vowed to continue negotiations with the EU.
“This Government will press on with negotiating a deal while preparing to leave without one,” he said. “I will go to that crucial summit on October 17 and no matter how many devices this parliament contrives to tie my hands, I will strive to get an agreement in the national interest. “This government will not delay Brexit any longer.”
"A typically combative performance from Boris Johnson" - Chief political correspondent @joncraig reacts to the PM failing for a second time to trigger an early general election.
— Sky News (@SkyNews) September 10, 2019
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The vote meant Mr Johnson has suffered a record-breaking six defeats in the six votes he has so far held as Prime Minister. He was earlier ordered to publish the documents and email and text communications relating to the government’s decision to prorogue parliament.
Parliament is now suspended from Monday night UK time until October 14.
The five-week suspension ensures that an election cannot be held until the second half of November at the earliest, since MPs can’t sit to approve a poll until October 14. Under the Fixed-term Parliaments Act, an election takes place 25 working days after the dissolution of parliament.
Mr Johnson will assure his cabinet on Tuesday local time that he will continue diplomatic efforts to leave the EU on October 31 “do or die.”
He is due to meet EU leaders in New York later this month on the sidelines of the annual general assembly of the United Nations. European Council president Donald Tusk has agreed a meeting and efforts are underway to arrange talks with Frnech president Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
He may also visit Brussels next week for talks with Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission, The Times reports.
Boris: I won’t ask for another delay
Mr Johnson had tabled the motion for the second time late on Monday night (UK time), insisting he would not ask for another delay to Brexit, despite MPs voting to force him to ask for an extension to the October 31 deadline.
Earlier, as he tabled the motion, Mr Johnson said only the people of Britain had the right to ask him to extend the Brexit deadline, by voting for or against his party in an election.
“If you really want to delay Brexit beyond October the 31st, which is what you seem to want to do, then vote for an election and let the people decide if they want a delay or not,” Mr Johnson told MPs. “And if you refuse to do that tonight, I will go to Brussels and negotiate our departure, hopefully with a deal, but without one if necessary. I will not ask for another delay.”
In response, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn told MPs he would not support an October poll until a no-deal Brexit was taken off the table.
“We are not walking into traps laid by this prime minister,” Mr Corbyn said.
Last week Mr Corbyn said he would support an early election if the delay bill was given Royal Assent.
The bill passed with Royal Assent earlier on Monday (UK time).
Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson agreed that an early election would not resolve the no-deal controversy and called instead for a second referendum. She told MPs if Mr Johnson was serious about securing a deal with the EU, he would be in Brussels rather than Westminster.
The Guardian reported that the Lib Dems would officially back revoking Article 50 at their conference later this month. The move would effectively end any chance of an alliance with Labour at future elections.
Tabling his motion earlier, the Prime Minister challenged Mr Corbyn to back the early poll, after vowing to support it if the Brexit delay bill passed.
“Referring to his Surrender Bill, he said – and I quote: ‘Let this Bill pass and gain Royal Assent, and then we will back an election,’ Mr Johnson aid.
“The Surrender Act has now passed. It has gained Royal Assent. He has done his level best to wreck this country’s chances of a successful negotiation. By his own logic and his own argument, he must now back an election’”.
Boris to publish prorogation documents
All government advisers will have to allow scrutiny of any “formal and informal” text messages and emails relating to the prorogation of parliament after MPs demanded the government release the communication by Wednesday UK time.
The vote to force government to publish the information passed by 311 - 302, a majority of nine.
Former Attorney General Dominic Grieve, who proposed the ”humble address”, said there were suspicions that parliament was being suspended to stop the legislature from debating the risks of leaving the EU without a withdrawal agreement.
Mr Grieve told MPs that officials involved in the decision to prorogue parliament told him they believed the handling of the decision “smacked of scandal.”
How to sum up last few days for @BorisJohnson? 5 days in Commons + 5 major defeats - 21 Tory MPs = 0 majority + 0 election + 0 plan for Brexit + 5 weeks of Parliament suspensed
— Nick Robinson (@bbcnickrobinson) September 9, 2019
The government said Mr Grieve’s address was “disproportionate.” It said it was “committed to sharing appropriate information with Parliament, but we must balance this obligation with the broader public interest, our legal duties and the assurance that ministers can receive full and frank advice that will remain confidential”.
“The scope of the information requested in the humble address is disproportionate and unprecedented. We will consider the implications of this vote and respond in due course.”
According to the BBC, the government will hand over the documents on Tuesday local time (Wednesday AEST), a day earlier than it was ordered.
The Government then allowed a motion by Jeremy Corbyn demanding it comply with the law over the Brexit extension delay bill.
MPs also voted to require the government to release documents relating to its decision to prorogue parliament, and its plans for a no-deal Brexit..
Speaker set to go
Earlier on Tuesday (EAST) the Speaker of Britain’s House of Commons John Bercow announced he would step down within weeks amid criticism by Brexit hardliners who say he has twisted parliamentary rules to undermine them.
Mr Bercow, a colourufl and at times divisive figure, said he would not stand for re-election if MPs vote in favour of an early election later on Monday and would in any case resign on October 31 even if they did not.
His decision to step down is in keeping with the British tradition that a speaker should not serve an excessive amount of terms.
Mr Bercow has been in the post since 2009, and had earned the enmity of many Conservative Party kingpins who, in a break with normal practice, had been planning to challenge him at the next election.
Mr Bercow’s emotional announcement drew sustained applause from the House and heartfelt thanks from friends and foes alike. He choked up several times as he explained it was time for him to step down, in part because of family obligations.
“Throughout my time as Speaker I have sought to increase the relative authority of this legislature for which I will make absolutely no apology to anyone, anywhere, at any time,” he said.
He also seemed to warn about weakening Parliament’s role at a time when the institution is in conflict with the prime minister.
“We degrade this parliament at our peril,” he said. “I have served as a member of Parliament for 22 years, and for the last 10 as Speaker. This has been, let me put it explicitly, the greatest privilege and honor of my professional life for which I will be eternally grateful.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and Conservative Cabinet minister Michael Gove both praised Mr Bercow for his commitment to the democratic process.
“Our democracy is the stronger for your being the speaker. And whatever you do when you finally step down from Parliament, you do so with the thanks of a very large number of people,” Mr Corbyn said.
Mr Gove said: “Your commitment to your principles and to your constituents is unwavering and an example to others.”
Mr Bercow, 56, began his career as a right-of-center conservative, but gradually morphed into someone perceived as an enemy by the Conservative Party power structure, largely because he was seen as a stout defender of Parliament’s rights.
Most recently, he has been outspoken in his criticism of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s decision to suspend Parliament, calling it a “constitutional outrage.”
Boris: we will keep to the law
Earlier, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson signalled to cabinet ministers that the government would have to accept a further three-month delay to Brexit if it is forced on him by the courts.
This came as the month-long suspension of the parliament ordered by Mr Johnson in an apparent bid to stop MPs blocking his Brexit strategy was to begin late on Monday, London time.
“Parliament will be prorogued at close of business today,” his spokesman said, using the parliamentary term for the suspension.
During the session on Monday, approval by Queen Elizabeth to delay the October 31 Brexit deadline was announced by Norman Fowler, the speaker of the House of Lords.
The decision to prorougue parliament means that MPs are unlikely to be able to seize control of the order paper to demand documents on no-deal and prorogation. The government could have allowed MPs to continue sitting until Thursday under the prorogation order but has decided to curtail the sitting as early as possible.
In a private climbdown from his repeated insistence that Britain would leave the EU on October 31, Mr Johnson has assured senior colleagues that he will “abide by the law”.
The Times newspaper understands Mr Johnson had been warned by several cabinet ministers that their positions would be untenable if he flouted a Supreme Court ruling ordering him to accept an extension. “The Prime Minister has assured me that we abide by the rule of law,” one minister said.
On another front, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar warned Mr Johnson late on Monday that there was “no such thing as a clean break” with the EU as he urged him to come up with “workable” plans to replace the Irish backstop.
At the first of the two leaders’ meetings in Dublin, Mr Varadkar told Mr Johnson he was prepared to discuss all “legally workable” alternatives to the backstop but he was not prepared to accept a “promise” of avoiding a hard border.
Mr Johnson said last week that he would rather “be dead in a ditch” than ask for another Brexit delay. While Downing Street attempted to hold to its hardline public stance over a potential extension, senior ministers suggested for the first time that Mr Johnson could ultimately be forced to climb down.
In interviews on Sunday, Chancellor Sajid Javid and Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab both said that Mr Johnson would obey the law. “We are always going to behave lawfully as a government, of course you’d expect that,” Mr Raab told Sky News. “It will be challenged in the court but we are going to deal with that legislation and test it very carefully.”
He added that the government would want to “test to the limit what it does actually lawfully require”. Suggesting a possible retreat, he said: “What I’m going to do is redouble our efforts to get a deal but in any event to leave by the end of October.
“Of course, if we can’t do that, it is very clear that the blockage is Jeremy Corbyn, the Liberal Democrats and others who are not willing to respect the referendum.”
Mr Javid told the BBC that Mr Johnson would not ask for an extension at a European Council meeting on October 17 but did not rule out complying with any legal order to do so later.
“In case there is no deal agreed in that council meeting, should we get to that position, we will look at our options,” he said. “Of course we’ll obey the law, but we will look at our options. The government will not change its policy, and we will be consistent with obeying the law but also sticking to our policy.”
Downing Street insisted that Mr Johnson stood by his pledge not to ask for a Brexit extension under any circumstances.
“The Prime Minister has been very clear he will not ask the EU for an extension beyond October 31,” a spokesman said.
One senior government source said that several cabinet members, including the Attorney-General, Geoffrey Cox, and Justice Secretary Robert Buckland, had warned Downing Street that their positions would be untenable if Mr Johnson flouted a Supreme Court ruling that he had to ask for an extension. Mr Buckland said he fully supported the Prime Minister and would continue to serve in cabinet. He added: “We have spoken over the past 24 hours regarding the importance of the rule of law, which I as lord chancellor have taken an oath to uphold.”
Chaos in Westminster and Mr Johnson’s failure to hold meaningful negotiations means France will veto another delay to Brexit, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said.
Rebel Conservative MPs are plotting to seize control of the Commons again on Tuesday in an attempt to force Mr Johnson to publish secret documents detailing his suspension of parliament.
With The Times, Agencies
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