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Brexit: Boris Johnson at risk of Commons defeat as MPs debate move against no deal – live news Brexit: Boris Johnson at risk of Commons defeat as MPs debate move against no deal – live news
(32 minutes later)
The Lib Dem Brexit spokesman Tom Brake says he has asked colleagues in the European parliament if there is any evidence that the UK is putting forward alternative plans for the backstop. He says he has been told that there has been “total radio silence” from the UK with regard to the Brexit negotiation. He urges MPs to support the motion.
The Tory MP Bob Seely says he is against this motion because it provides an opportunity for another extension. He says he wants a deal. But he also thinks the country needs to bring this matter to a conclusion.
Back in the debate the Green MP Caroline Lucas criticises the “feral, out of control executive”.
And she also criticises Jacob Rees-Mogg’s body language. (See 9.23pm.) She says his stance shows his contempt for parliament. “Sit up,” some MPs shout.
These are from the BBC’s Iain Watson.
BREAKING: 17 Labour MPs including @GloriaDePiero @SKinnock and @CarolineFlintMP plan to amend tomorrow's anti-No Deal bill (if the opposition win tonight) to call for the latest version of the @theresa_may deal to be put to parliament. Their full statement coming up
Breaking -This is the full statement from the group calling themselves '⁦@UKLabour⁩ for a deal' They say parliament is being forced to choose between extremes. they want the(post-labour talks) Withdrawal Agreement legislation tabled again so MPs can avoid no deal but leave pic.twitter.com/KPt4cHWO4F
MPs are not supposed to take photographs of each other in the chamber, but you can see why Labour’s Anna Turley could not resist this shot.
The physical embodiment of arrogance, entitlement, disrespect and contempt for our parliament. pic.twitter.com/XdnFQmkfCS
MPs sometimes lean back like that in the chamber because there are speakers embedded in those benches at the top, and if they are having difficulty hearing the debate, having your ear to the cushion can help. Obviously, Turley has an alternative explanation for Rees-Mogg’s posture ...
Antoinette Sandbach, one of the Tory rebels, is speaking now. She says if Boris Johnson is allowed to shut down parliament to reduce the chances of MPs stopping a no-deal Brexit, there will be nothing to stop another prime minister doing this again.
Labour’s Gordon Marsden says there is no evidence, “not a sniff”, that the government has presented Brexit plans to the EU.
He says Boris Johnson is a “petulant man-child unable to get his way with this house” and that is why he wants to shut down parliament. That is why MPs must vote for this motion, he says.
In the debate Sir Bernard Jenkin, the Tory Brexiter, is speaking now.
He says this situation partly reflects various constitutional changes.
One is the Fixed-term Parliaments Act. This has strengthened the position of the PM, as was intended when it was passed by the coalition. But this means the Commons can now wound a PM, without bringing them down.
And the other factor is the increased use of referendums. That has created a problem of competing legitimacies, he says. It is not clear what is most legimate, he says - the representative or the direct mandate?
This is from Antonello Guerrera, a corespondent for the Italian paper, La Repubblica.This is from Antonello Guerrera, a corespondent for the Italian paper, La Repubblica.
BREAKING. "The UK hasn't put forward yet ANY REALISTIC ALTERNATIVE PROPOSAL in order to replace the backstop, not even a draft. The 'level of ambition' looks lower if compared with the past administrations" - EU sources to Italian main news agency @Agenzia_AnsaBREAKING. "The UK hasn't put forward yet ANY REALISTIC ALTERNATIVE PROPOSAL in order to replace the backstop, not even a draft. The 'level of ambition' looks lower if compared with the past administrations" - EU sources to Italian main news agency @Agenzia_Ansa
This sounds like a reference to a briefing similar to the one reported by RTE’s Tony Connelly earlier. (See 5.51pm.)This sounds like a reference to a briefing similar to the one reported by RTE’s Tony Connelly earlier. (See 5.51pm.)
Dominic Grieve, a Tory rebel and the former attorney general, says he does not know what the “will of the people” means now. He says it is not clear what the public want. That is why he thinks there must be a referendum, he says.Dominic Grieve, a Tory rebel and the former attorney general, says he does not know what the “will of the people” means now. He says it is not clear what the public want. That is why he thinks there must be a referendum, he says.
He says he is alarmed by the way people who make this argument are now accused of being traitors.He says he is alarmed by the way people who make this argument are now accused of being traitors.
And he says he was surprised when Jacob Rees-Mogg argued that passing the Benn bill could interrupt the great set pieces that follow the Queen’s speech. (See 7.40pm.) Grieve says, as a Conservative, he likes the set pieces that follow the Queen’s speech. But he constituents know that averting the damage a no-deal Brexit would cause is more important.And he says he was surprised when Jacob Rees-Mogg argued that passing the Benn bill could interrupt the great set pieces that follow the Queen’s speech. (See 7.40pm.) Grieve says, as a Conservative, he likes the set pieces that follow the Queen’s speech. But he constituents know that averting the damage a no-deal Brexit would cause is more important.
He also criticises Rees-Mogg for the way he criticised Oliver Letwin. (See 7.38pm.) He says Letwin spent more months in high office than the number of days Rees-Mogg has spent in his.He also criticises Rees-Mogg for the way he criticised Oliver Letwin. (See 7.38pm.) He says Letwin spent more months in high office than the number of days Rees-Mogg has spent in his.
Anna Soubry, the former Tory MP who is now leader of the Independent Group for Change, urges MPs to back the motion. She says it is not just about the future of the country, it is about self-respect too. She says MPs need to be able to look themselves in the mirror, and tell their grandchildren they have done the right thing.Anna Soubry, the former Tory MP who is now leader of the Independent Group for Change, urges MPs to back the motion. She says it is not just about the future of the country, it is about self-respect too. She says MPs need to be able to look themselves in the mirror, and tell their grandchildren they have done the right thing.
Liam Fox, the former international trade secretary, is speaking now.Liam Fox, the former international trade secretary, is speaking now.
He says MPs must honour the result of the referendum.He says MPs must honour the result of the referendum.
He says this motion would turn the UK into supplicants in relation to the EU.He says this motion would turn the UK into supplicants in relation to the EU.
He says MPs would create a “coalition of chaos” if they back this plan.He says MPs would create a “coalition of chaos” if they back this plan.
And he says a senior French minister told him that it was important for the UK to honour the referendum result. He told Fox that France’s current political problems, which saw the collapse of the traditional parties, started when the French government failed to honour the spirit of the French vote against the European constitution.And he says a senior French minister told him that it was important for the UK to honour the referendum result. He told Fox that France’s current political problems, which saw the collapse of the traditional parties, started when the French government failed to honour the spirit of the French vote against the European constitution.
In the Commons Nick Boles, the former Tory who now sits as an independent, is speaking. He recalls the day he woke up in hospital in 2017, where he was being treated for cancer, and got ready to go to the Commons to vote for article 50 to be triggered. His blood cell count was low, and there was a high chance of infection, he says. But he was driven to the Commons to vote because he believed the referendum vote should be respected.In the Commons Nick Boles, the former Tory who now sits as an independent, is speaking. He recalls the day he woke up in hospital in 2017, where he was being treated for cancer, and got ready to go to the Commons to vote for article 50 to be triggered. His blood cell count was low, and there was a high chance of infection, he says. But he was driven to the Commons to vote because he believed the referendum vote should be respected.
He says he has voted for a Brexit deal. But what he will not do is accept a no-deal Brexit.He says he has voted for a Brexit deal. But what he will not do is accept a no-deal Brexit.
He says taking this stand lost him the support of his local Tory association, and led to him leaving the party. But he has no regrets. He has put what is right for the country ahead of his self-interest. How many members of the cabinet can say the same?He says taking this stand lost him the support of his local Tory association, and led to him leaving the party. But he has no regrets. He has put what is right for the country ahead of his self-interest. How many members of the cabinet can say the same?
He says he is the only MP in parliament sitting as an independent progressive conservative. But he urges other MPs to join him so that they can provide a new force in parliament.He says he is the only MP in parliament sitting as an independent progressive conservative. But he urges other MPs to join him so that they can provide a new force in parliament.
Emily Thornberry, the shadow foreign secretary, has just told Sky News that Labour is desperate to hold a general election. But, asked if Labour would support a vote for a general election tomorrow, she says the party might abstain, or vote against. She says the party wants to see the bill ruling out a no-deal Brexit on 31 October passed first. At the moment, I am the only independent progressive Conservative in parliament.
Under the Letwin plan, the bill could become law on Monday. To those brave souls on the Conservative benches who face expulsion from the party for voting for the motion today, I say this: your country needs you.
No 10 has been saying that, if the government loses the vote tonight, Boris Johnson will push for a vote on an early election tomorrow. But without Labour’s support he will not get the two-thirds majority required under the Fixed-term Parliaments Act for the vote to be operable. Do what you know to be right.
Clarke says the obvious compromise is a soft Brexit, that would keep the economic relationship with the EU (ie single market membership). Join me on these benches and, together, let us build a new force in British politics and a true home in parliament for those who believe in one nation.
He says people say this amounts to disrespecting the referendum result.
But he says he has voted for Brexit three times. He voted for a deal that Jacob Rees-Mogg, the leader of the Commons, now derides.
Back in the Commons Ken Clarke, the Tory former chancellor who is now the father of the house (the longest-serving MP) is speaking.
He says parliament has voted against no deal. But Boris Johnson has put himself into the situation where he has to have no deal.
If parliament allows itself to be sidelined, the impact this would have on what future governments might do would be “horrendous”.
Clarke says allowing Johnson to implement a no-deal Brexit against the wishes of parliament would set a “horrendous” precedent for the future.
He mocks Jacob Rees-Mogg for what he said about a WTO Brexit being acceptable. (See 9.25pm.) He says no doubt the North Koreans thrive on such a regime. The only other countries trading just on WTO terms are Algeria and Serbia, he says. He says he admires Rees-Mogg’s ability to keep a straight face when he was making this argument.
Jared O’Mara has postponed his plan to resign from the Commons, PA Media reports. The Sheffield Hallam MP, 37, announced his decision in July to step down after a series of problems which saw him suspended from the parliamentary Labour party and then resign from the party. MPs cannot simply resign. If they want to leave the Commons they have to apply to be appointed to one of two ancients stewardships, PA reports. A Treasury spokesman said:
Jared O’Mara remains an MP after writing to the chancellor asking to postpone his appointment to an office of the Crown.
Turning away from the debate for a moment, Steve Baker, the new chair of the European Research Group, has given an interesting briefing to journalists. During the leadership election Boris Johnson ruled out an election pact with the Brexit party. But Baker, after a meeting of the ERG where he took over as chair from Jacob Rees-Mogg, said the Tories would need to reach an arrangement with Nigel Farage’s party to win a general election before Brexit. Baker said:
What’s very clear to me is if we have an election before we have left the European Union, and the Brexit party think that we are heading in a direction which does not deliver our independence from the EU, then they will stand candidates virtually everywhere.
And the result will be as per Peterborough and in Wales - they will result in a Lib/Lab Remain coalition and we will lose Brexit, and that’s why I’ve said we need to have some sort of accommodation with them but we are not quite at that bridge yet.
Ian Blackford, the SNP leader at Westminster, is speaking now. He accuses Boris Johnson of acting like a dictator. And he says the Conservative party is now acting like a cult.
Rees-Mogg says the public gave MPs an instruction.
He says if the bill passes tomorrow, MPs will either have to accept the backstop, accept endless Brexit delays or revoke article 50 altogether.
He says today’s motion is “the most unconstitutional use of this house since the days of Charles Stewart Parnell, when he tried to bung up parliament”.
He quotes AV Dicey, the Victorian jurist, saying that political conventions are there to ensure that the will of the people gets enacted.
Parliament should accept the will of the nation, he says.
Sovereignty comes from the people to parliament. It does not come out of a void ... We should recognise that the people are our masters, and show ourselves to be their liege and servants.
Rees-Mogg ends by urging MPs to “consider the chaos this concatenation of circumstances could create”.
Rees-Mogg says the bill involves a deliberate attempt to allow an extension long enough to allow a second piece of legislation, or to allow Brexit to be revoked.
He says this procedure could be used again to have a further Brexit delay.
This would create a marionette government, he says.
Rees-Mogg says the bill will not deliver certainty on Brexit. It is nothing but “legislative legerdemain”, he says.
Hilary Benn, the Labour chair of the Brexit committee, and the principal sponsor of the bill to be debated tomorrow if this motion passes, asks how he can say there is anything wrong with this procedure given that the Speaker has approved it.
Rees-Mogg says there is a difference between irregular and improper. This procedure might not be improper, but it is irregular, he says.