Brexit: MPs reject December 12 election, Boris to try again
Boris Johnson has one more trick up his sleeve to ensure a general election before Christmas after MPs rejected his third attempt.
Boris Johnson will on Wednesday (AEDT) have another attempt at calling an early general election after failing – for the third time – to get a two-thirds majority required to go to the polls on December 12.
But this time he will ensure he will need only a simple majority to get his motion passed.
The British Prime Minister was once again frustrated in his attempts to bring a snap poll to break the Brexit deadlock after most Labour opposition MPs abstained from the vote on Tuesday morning (AEDT).
The vote passed comfortably by 299 to 70 but failed to reach the two thirds majority – 434 – required under the Fixed Term Parliaments Act.
The opposition parties rejected Mr Johnson’s election bid, claiming they wanted a general election but didn’t trust Mr Johnson not to bring forward the Brexit withdrawal bill and ram it through before any election date.
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Mr Johnson said he would now introduce a so-called short bill, again calling for a general election on December 12.
Such a bill could pass because it requires a simple majority of 320 MPs to pass, but it is subject to amendments and there is a risk opposition MPs could amend the bill to call for a second referendum. It also has to pass both through the House of Commons and the House of Lords, making any election before Christmas very tight.
Mr Johnson said it was time for voters to make a pronouncement on his Brexit deal and “replace this dysfunctional parliament so the country can move on’’.
He said: “Parliament has turned down our offer (for an election); every member who stood to deliver Brexit and electorate will find this behaviour utterly bewildering.
“One way or another we must proceed straight to an election, we will be presenting a short bill for election on December 12 so we can finally get Brexit done.
“There is no support for the Brexit withdrawal bill to proceed but this House cannot keep this country hostage: millions cannot plan for the future and I don’t believe the paralysis and stagnation can continue.’’
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said he would scrutinise the government’s bill. He said there must be a clear definitive decision that no deal is off the table and no chance the Prime Minister wouldn’t stick to his word.
Meanwhile the Liberal Democrats will also table a bill, calling for the general election to be held on December 9 so students would still be at their term address to vote rather than heading off on holidays.
Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson suggested her party would not support Mr Johnson’s new motion for a December 12 election.
In a statement, Ms Swinson said if Boris Johnson wanted a general election, “he could have supported our Bill for a General Election” on December 9.
“Instead, he has chosen to stick to his original plan for December 12th which we have already rejected,” she added.
Ms Swinson has already promised that she would revoke Brexit entirely if she is in power.
A December election, which would be the country’s first in that month since 1923, would be pivotal. If Mr Johnson won with a large majority he could push his Brexit deal through parliament and seal Britain’s departure on January 31.
But if anti-Brexit parties hold the balance of power in another hung Parliament, the departure could be cancelled or another referendum held.
EU grants flextension
The vote came after the EU on Monday night (AEDT) agreed to delay Brexit until January 31, meaning Britain will not leave as planned on Thursday.
Mr Johnson had insisted he would never request the extension, but his hands were tied when parliament forced a delay if the Prime Minister couldn’t pass his exit deal.
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The EU27 has agreed that it will accept the UK's request for a #Brexit flextension until 31 January 2020. The decision is expected to be formalised through a written procedure.
— Donald Tusk (@eucopresident) October 28, 2019
“The EU27 has agreed that it will accept the UK’s request for a Brexit flextension until 31 January 2020,” EU chairman Donald Tusk said of the idea of a “flexible extension”, which means Britain could go earlier if its fractious parliament ratifies the divorce bill.
In his letter to Mr Tusk confirming “the UK’s formal agreement” to the EU’s approved delay, Mr Johnson made it clear he was requesting the delay against his will.
“As you are well aware, I have no discretion under the UK’s European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2019, which was imposed on Government against its will,” he wrote.
Mr Johnson added the EU should refuse any extension beyond January 31 to “avoid this Parliament simply extending our membership again and again.”
Boris Johnson’s letter to @eucopresident Donald Tusk accepting the Jan 31 extension. Note no reference to the EU’s reminder that the UK is obliged to appoint a Commissioner pic.twitter.com/hP9M2i8EoU
— Tony Connelly (@tconnellyRTE) October 28, 2019
The bloc now awaits an approval from London. Once that is in, a 24-hour countdown will start before the decision is formally adopted.
The decision to allow the extension came following a 30-minute meeting of the 27 EU ambassadors in Brussels after France dropped its objections that blocked the decision last week. Any delay to Brexit can only be granted unanimously by the 27 EU countries staying on together.
“The prospect of elections has strengthened significantly over the weekend,” a source close to French President Emmanuel Macron said earlier on Monday.
Mr Johnson on Sunday stepped up pressure on British MPs to back an early election to break the impasse on Brexit three years after Britons voted to leave the EU.
He needs two-thirds of MPs to back his plan, requiring support from the opposition Labour Party.
While Labour has vigorously opposed a vote until a no-deal Brexit is “off the table”, much will depend on whether the party deems the extension satisfactory for it to back an early election.
A Downing Street source said the government would consider options including those proposed by opposition parties, after the Scottish National Party (SNP) and Liberal Democrats (LD) said they wanted a new poll on December 9.
The delay envisages Britain could also be out on December 1 or January 1, should parliament ratify the withdrawal agreement in November or December.
The bloc might ask London to name a candidate for the EU’s new executive European Commission, which is comprised of one representative from every member state and currently due to take over on December 1.
More than three years after Britain voted to quit the EU, the country and its parliament remain divided over how, when and even whether to leave. The matter has triggered a spiralling political crisis in the country where Mr Johnson is now sparring with the House of Commons over calling an early election.
Downing Street had suggested that Mr Johnson could work with the Liberal Democrats and the SNP on an alternative route to a December election after two previous efforts were blocked when he failed to achieve a two-thirds majority in Commons votes. The alternative route would involve a change to the act that would require a simple majority, which could be achieved without Labour. Jo Swinson, the Liberal Democrats leader, and Ian Blackford, the SNP leader at Westminster, are proposing an election on December 9 but only if Mr Johnson gives up trying to get his Brexit deal through first.
Senior ministers at first dismissed the offer as a gimmick but it became clear that Downing Street was taking it seriously.
A source said on Sunday: “Jeremy Corbyn and MPs’ refusal to deliver Brexit is damaging our democracy and causing harm for millions of businesses. Leaving this parliament in place means not just three months more of pointless delay, but potentially further extensions. We can’t allow parliament to waste 2020 the way it has wasted 2019. The country wants Brexit done so we can move on. Tomorrow MPs will vote on an election on December 12 so we can get a new parliament. If Labour oppose being held to account by the people yet again then we will look at all options to get Brexit done, including ideas similar to that proposed by other opposition parties.”
Ms Swinson said she understood from Mr Johnson that her party’s plan had not been dismissed.
With Reuters, The Times
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