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Bercow allows emergency Brexit debate – live news Boris Johnson at risk of defeat as MPs start debating move to allow bill to prevent no-deal Brexit – live news
(32 minutes later)
Dominic Grieve, a Tory rebel, intervenes. He says Rees-Mogg talked about the need for parliament to scrutinise the executive. Yet the government is proroguing parliament for longer than needed. He says the government has also not always been honest, as when it said Operation Yellowhammer was a document produced by the old government. and the government has not been honest about the reasons for prorogation, he says. When these issues are considered together, you can see why people do not trust the government, Grieve says.
Rees-Mogg says Grieve is wrong. He says the decision to prorogue was routine.
Ken Clarke, the Tory pro-European, intervenes. He challenges Rees-Mogg’s claim that it would be acceptable for the UK to have to follow WTO rules. That would involve high tariffs. And it would require a hard border in Ireland. He says he cannot see why Rees-Mogg thinks that would not damage the economy.
Rees-Mogg says he is surprised Clarke is surprised by what he said. He has been making the case for WTO rules for some time, he says.
Jacob Rees-Mogg, the leader of the Commons, is speaking for the government.
He says people voted to leave the EU. MPs must respect that decision.
He says today’s procedure is constitutionally irregular.
(He is referring to the fact that John Bercow, the Speaker, is allowing an SO24 emergency debate to pass a motion giving MPs control of the order paper tomorrow. In the past they have always been used for neutral motions with no practical effect. Earlier this year Bercow indicated that he was willing to allow the procedure to be used more creatively than it was in the past.)
He says this motion risks subverting parliament’s role in scrutinising the executive.
Corbyn says he understands that MPs have some concerns about the Benn bill being debated tomorrow - that it is seen as trying to reverse Brexit.
But that is not the case, he says.
He says this bill is just about providing “vital breathing space” to allow MPs to find a way through this mess.
He says if MPs do not back this motion, they may not get another chance.
Whether people voted leave or remain, they did not vote to shut down democracy.
He says he urges MPs to do what they think is right for their constituencies.
As the debate goes on I will be updating some earlier posts to include direct quotes from MPs where the original post just featured reported speech. To get the updates to appear, you may need to refresh the page.
Corbyn says it is wrong to say that blocking a no-deal Brexit will hold up momentum towards a Brexit deal - because there is no momentum towards such a deal.
Jeremy Corbyn is now speaking for Labour.
He says this is the last chance MPs will have to stop a no-deal Brexit.
He says he understands that the mood is volatile. But if MPs want to stop a no-deal Brexit, they have to act now. He says MPs have faced bullying from their own side. But he says he has some words of encouragement: standing by your principles does not always damage your career prospects, he says.
(Corbyn is talking about himself, he says. He became Labour leader in 2015, when no one would have predicted that even six months earlier, after a lifetime of principled opposition to many things done by governments of both parties.)
Letwin says the motion today is just about allowing time for MPs to debate the bill tomorrow designed to stop a no-deal Brexit by 31 October.
He says it will be hard for the government to get a deal by 31 January – the deadline for an extension set out in the Benn bill.
But he says there is no chance of the government getting a deal by 31 October.
It’s to provide the government with the time to seek to solve this problem and to enable parliament to help to resolve an issue which has proved very difficult.
I don’t say it’s easy to do by 31 January, but I’m sure that it will not be done by 31 October. We are between a rock and a hard place, and in this instance the hard place is better than the rock. It is as simple as that. It’s decision time
If honourable members across the house want to prevent a no-deal exit on 31 October they will have the opportunity to do so if, but only if, they vote for this motion this evening. I hope they will do so.
Letwin says he has proposed his plan because of four facts.
First, the government has not come up with a plan for a Brexit deal, he says.
Over the last six weeks the government has not produced a single indication of any viable proposal to replace the backstop by any alternative likely to prove acceptable to the EU.
The likelihood of the government reaching a deal at the council meeting on October 17 and 18 on the terms the government itself has set is accordingly slight.
Second, he says this week is the last chance MPs will have to block a no deal Brexit.
Third, he says the government has said it is willing to go ahead with no-deal.
And, fourth, he says a no-deal would be a serious threat to the country.
He says Boris Johnson is like someone standing on one side of a canyon shouting to people on the other side that, if they do not do as he says, he will jump off.
MPs are now starting the SO24 debate.MPs are now starting the SO24 debate.
Sir Oliver Letwin, the former Cabinet Office minister, is moving the motion that he has tabled. See 12.24pm for an explanation of what it says.Sir Oliver Letwin, the former Cabinet Office minister, is moving the motion that he has tabled. See 12.24pm for an explanation of what it says.
An application for an #emergencydebate on the European Union (Withdrawal) has been submitted. The Speaker will consider it later today. If successful, the debate takes precedence over today's scheduled business under Standing Order 24.https://t.co/mmWOWfREgI pic.twitter.com/vnZFlbNRBAAn application for an #emergencydebate on the European Union (Withdrawal) has been submitted. The Speaker will consider it later today. If successful, the debate takes precedence over today's scheduled business under Standing Order 24.https://t.co/mmWOWfREgI pic.twitter.com/vnZFlbNRBA
George Osborne, the Evening Standard editor and former Tory chancellor, says Nicholas Soames is following in the footsteps of his grandfather.George Osborne, the Evening Standard editor and former Tory chancellor, says Nicholas Soames is following in the footsteps of his grandfather.
To be fair, the Tory Party also tried to deselect his grandfather in the 1930s https://t.co/7dlnWRmrHmTo be fair, the Tory Party also tried to deselect his grandfather in the 1930s https://t.co/7dlnWRmrHm
But Churchill never was deselected by the Tories. He did, however, do a Phillip Lee and join the Liberals before the first world war.But Churchill never was deselected by the Tories. He did, however, do a Phillip Lee and join the Liberals before the first world war.
Chris Philp is now proposing his 10-minute rule bill on clean air. It probably won’t take a full 10 minutes.Chris Philp is now proposing his 10-minute rule bill on clean air. It probably won’t take a full 10 minutes.
Bone rises to make a point of order. He complains that Letwin did not follow the right procedure. Bercow tells him that Letwin did lodge his application properly.Bone rises to make a point of order. He complains that Letwin did not follow the right procedure. Bercow tells him that Letwin did lodge his application properly.
Letwin does not use his full three minutes. It is more like 30 seconds.
He says this is an urgent matter, and MPs should debate it.
Bercow says it is a proper matter for an emergency debate. He asks if Letwin has the support of the house for MPs.
Some MPs shout “no”, but more than 40 MPs stand up to indicate their assent (the procedure required) and so Bercow allows the debate.
He says Peter Bone was the MP shouting no. And he says more than 40 MPs were standing up.
Bercow says the debate will start after the forthcoming 10-minute rule bill, and that will last for three hours, or finish at 10pm if it is still going on then.
John Bercow, the Speaker, says he will now take the application for the SO24 debate.
That means Sir Oliver Letwin gets three minutes to make a speech explaining why MPs must debate this.
From my colleague Jessica Elgot
Soames' decision is a big blow for the government - had heard he had been genuinely torn this afternoon after meeting with PM earlier
This is from Rory Stewart, the former international development secretary.
I will be voting today against a no-deal Brexit pic.twitter.com/ELmBfNBMjq
And it has attracted this response from Sir Nicholas Soames, who has confirmed that he will be voting with the rebels. This means, of course, that Boris Johnson will end up effectively deselecting Winston Churchill’s grandson.
#MeToo
From HuffPost’s Paul Waugh
Labour chief whip Nick Brown just told PLP the party would not back PM's snap election bid. He said party wanted Johnson to "stew in his own juices" and be made to "own" his mess, one present says.John McDonnell didnt demur.
Here is the official Downing Street text of Boris Johnson’s G7 statement. I normally write “full text” here, but this is not the full text because there several passages where what the civil service call “political content” (party political material – mostly anti Labour) has been removed.
But journalists have been sent the entire text. It will appear on Hansard online later but, for the record, here is Johnson’s peroration – where he claimed the Benn bill should be seen as “Jeremy Corbyn’s surrender bill”. Johnson said:
Yesterday a bill was published – a bill that the leader of the opposition has spent all summer working on.
This is not a bill in any normal sense of the word. It is without precedent in our history – it is a bill that, if passed, would force me to go to Brussels and beg an extension. It would force me to accept any terms offered. It would destroy any chance of negotiations or a new deal. And indeed it would enable our friends in Brussels to dictate the terms of the negotiation, that is what it does.
There is only one way to describe this bill – it is Jeremy Corbyn’s surrender bill. It means running up the white flag.
I want to make clear to everybody in this house – there are no circumstances in which I will ever accept anything like it.
I will never surrender the control of the negotiations in the way the leader of the opposition is demanding.
We promised the people we would get Brexit done. We promised to respect the result of the referendum and we must do so now.
Enough is enough. This country wants this done. They want the referendum respected. We are negotiating a deal and though I am confident of getting a deal we will leave on 31 October in all circumstances. There will be no further pointless delay.
This house has never before voted to force the prime minister to surrender such a crucial decision to the discretion of our friends and neighbours overseas.
What is this bill would mean is that unless we agree to the terms of our friends and partners they would be able to keep us in the EU for as long as they want and on their terms. I urge therefore this house to reject this bill tonight so that we can get the right deal for our country, deliver Brexit and take the whole country forward.
Steve Baker, a leading Tory Brexiter, has confirmed that he has replaced Jacob Rees-Mogg as chair of the European Research Group, which represents those Tories most in favour of a harder Brexit. Baker was chair before being made a Brexit minister in 2017.
Many thanks to colleagues for once again asking me to Chair the ERG
From ITV’s Robert Peston
Here is the paradox that is doing my head in. Later tonight, when up to 20 odd Tories are stripped of the Tory whip, @BorisJohnson's minority in parliament will go from minus 2 to minus a lot. He will have no control of parliament. And yet his attempt tomorrow to hold a...
general election on 14 October may flop. None of this makes any sense. Chaos. Madness
In the Commons the Michael Gove statement is now over and MPs are now on the Gavin Williamson education spending statement. At this pace, there is a good chance that they will get going on the SO24 motion and the no-deal Brexit debate by around 6.30pm, which would mean the voting would start at around 9.30pm.
If the SO24 motion gets passed by the Commons later, MPs will get the chance to pass all stages of the Benn bill tomorrow. It will then go to the House of Lords.
Normally there are no time limits on debates in the Lords. Peers do not use programme motions, which are used in the Commons to curtail debates so that bills complete all their stages by a particular time. This led to fears that pro-Brexit peers might filibuster the bill, so that it fails to clear the Lords before prorogation. But Angela Smith, the Labour leader in the Lords, has tabled a motion to be debated tomorrow that would ensure that all stages of the Benn bill must be completed by 5pm on Friday.
There had been talk of peers sitting over the weekend to deal with the bill, but this motion would kill off that prospect. The Benn bill would then go back to the Commons on Monday, when MPs would debate any Lords amendment.
The Smith motion has the support of the Lib Dems, which means it is very likely to get through because there is no Conservative majority in the Lords.
Commenting on her plan, Smith said:
Should MPs agree to the proposed bill, it would be completely unacceptable for the government to try and use its peers to scupper that legislation. In fact, it would go against a key constitutional principle of the primacy of the elected House of Commons – the House of Lords does not block laws agreed by MPs.
My business motion invites peers to debate and discuss the bill in an orderly way, including an additional sitting this Friday, to allow full consideration of the proposals before next week’s scheduled prorogation of parliament.