Brexit: Boris calls for December 12 poll to ‘end nightmare’

Boris Johnson offers Labour more time to pass his deal if they agree to a December 12 general election.

Boris Johnson leaves 10 Downing Street after meeting with his cabinet. Picture: AFP.

Boris Johnson has challenged Labour to agree to a December 12 general election to break the parliamentary “nightmare’’ in return of more time to debate the Brexit deal.

However Jeremy Corbyn has already suggested Labour won’t support the motion unless a o-deal Brexit was ruled out altogether.

In offering the deal, the Prime Minister accepted that the European Union would agree to an extension beyond his “do or die’’ deadline of October 31, even though the French are still holding out for a short weeks-long extension rather than several months.

Mr Johnson announced this morning Australian time that he wants to release the current pause button on the Brexit deal so it can go through to committee stage and a third reading, by offering further sitting days for scrutiny and debate until November 6. However in return Labour will have to agree to go to the polls two weeks before Christmas.

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In a letter to Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, Mr Johnson said it was their joint duty to “end this nightmare.”

“If businesses assume that this parliament will stay, paralysed, refusing to take responsibility for month after month into 2020, it will cause misery for millions. It is our duty to end this nightmare and provide the country with a solution as soon as we reasonably can,” he wrote.

But it appears that while the Labour executive is split on whether to accept the early poll, opposition backbenchers and the SNP are determined not to “unleash Boris Johnson’’.

The Tories are polling ahead of Labour at the moment by 15 points.

But Mr Corbyn tweeted: “Take No Deal off the table and Labour will absolutely support an election.”

Take No Deal off the table and Labour will absolutely support an election. pic.twitter.com/O7DtNGaurJ

— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) October 24, 2019

The Liberal Democrats said they would vote against the election deal because “we’re not in the business of bailing out Boris Johnson’’.

Scottish nationalist MP Angus McNeil agreed, saying: “We are in no rush to let Boris Johnson out of the cage. At the moment Boris is at the mercy of parliament and we are not in the game of empowering Boris Johnson.’’

But the Labour grassroots movement which keeps Mr Corbyn in power have backed the call for an election, claiming: “If tens of thousands of us step up and give it everything we’ve got, we can win.’’

Arch Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Moggleaves Downing St. Picture: Getty Images.

Mr Johnson, who has the backing of most Tory MPs and the ten DUP MPs, will require Labour support to make the two-thirds threshold required under the Fixed Terms Parliament Act.

Early this week the opposition parties refused to allow Mr Johnson to fast-track the Brexit deal, instead voting for a further Brexit delay.

Mr Johnson said the deal had been “super-masticated’’ over the past three years and people wanted to have the issued decided.

“We have had three and a half years and I am saying to the Labour party if you genuinely want more time, here it is, but the condition is we all agree for a general election on December 12,’’ he said.

“This is the deadline otherwise the people of this country won’t believe parliament will really do it by that day.’’

In a letter to Mr Corbyn, Mr Johnson wrote: “The way to get this done, the way to get Brexit done, is I think to be reasonable with parliament and say if they genuinely want more time to study this excellent deal they can have it but they have to agree to a general election on December 12.

He added: “If the EU offers the delay that parliament has requested — that is, we must stay in until 31 January — then it is clear that there must be an election.

“Parliament has refused to take decisions … it cannot refuse to let voters replace it with a new parliament that can make decisions”.

But Mr Johnson is still hopeful the EU might agree to a short extension which would put pressure on the parliament to accept his deal, coupled with the election; or face a no deal Brexit.

Incredibly, hostile parliamentarians risked further ire from a fed up public by claiming a near-Christmas election would ruin Christmas.

Change UK politician Anna Soubry said: “The idea that we have a general election with party leaflets coming in through the letterbox at the same time as parcels and cards, people are thinking of other things, it is a farce.’’

Labour MP John Trickett said: “This is a nightmare before Christmas when you drag people out to vote when it’s cold and dark’’.

Another Labour MP Barry Sherman said: “Turkeys don’t vote for Christmas, you don’t run of an election when you don’t have to and why do we want to ruin everyone’s Christmas?’’

The shadow leader of the house, Valerie Vaz said: “The Labour Party will back an election once no-deal is ruled out’’, adding “or if the extension allows’’.

Some Opposition MPs have claimed an election wouldn’t solve the Brexit conundrum and have demanded a second referendum instead.

But key Tory MPs said parliament was “spent’’ and “broken’’ and said the public needed an opportunity to reconfigure it.

The Leader of the House Jacob Rees Mogg said the Labour opposition kept promising it wanted a general election but kept reneging.

Meanwhile Mr Johnson also scored a rare victory in the parliament with the Queen’s Speech passing a vote. An earlier amendment by Labour was defeated.