This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-50174402
The article has changed 9 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Brexit PM says he will try for 12 December election | |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Boris Johnson has said he will give MPs more time to debate his Brexit deal, but only if they agree to a 12 December general election. | |
| The prime minister told the BBC he expected the EU to grant an extension to his 31 October deadline, even though he "really" did not want one. | |
| He urged Labour to back an election in a vote he plans to hold next week. | He urged Labour to back an election in a vote he plans to hold next week. |
| The EU is expected to give its verdict on delaying Brexit for three months, or less time than that, on Friday. | |
| In a letter to Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, Mr Johnson says his "preferred option" is a short postponement "say to 15 or 30 November". | |
| In that case, he writes, he will try to get his deal through Parliament again, with Labour's support. | |
| The prime minister adds that he "assumes" Mr Corbyn "will cooperate with me to get our new Brexit deal ratified, so we leave with a new deal rather than no deal". | |
| If, as widely expected, the EU's Brexit delay is to the end of January, Mr Johnson says he will hold a Commons vote next week on a 12 December election. | |
| If Labour agrees to this, the government says it will try to get its deal through before Parliament is dissolved for the campaign on 6 November. | |
| The prime minister told the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg: "I'm afraid it looks as though our EU friends are going to respond to Parliament's request by having an extension, which I really don't want at all. | |
| "So, 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 12 December." | |
| Asked what he would do if Labour refused to vote for an election, he said: "We would campaign day after day for the people of this country to be released from subjection to a Parliament that has outlived its usefulness." | Asked what he would do if Labour refused to vote for an election, he said: "We would campaign day after day for the people of this country to be released from subjection to a Parliament that has outlived its usefulness." |
| The government will table a motion for a 12 December election later on Thursday, ahead of a possible vote on Monday. | |
| The prime minister has repeatedly insisted the UK will leave the EU next week, with or without a deal. | |
| But he was forced to send a letter to the EU requesting an extension, under legislation passed by MPs last month. | |
| MPs voted on Tuesday to back the first stage of the Withdrawal Agreement Bill, putting the deal the PM agreed with Brussels into law - but voted to reject Mr Johnson's plan to push it through the Commons in three days. | |
| Labour has previously insisted it will not vote for a general election until a no-deal Brexit has been firmly ruled out. | |
| Speaking before the PM's latest offer, shadow chancellor John McDonnell said Labour was ready for a general election "whenever it comes", but he refused to be drawn on whether his party would back one if Mr Johnson held a vote on it next week. | |
| "We will see what happens. We are trying to take this in stages," he said. | |
| Mr McDonnell said Labour remained open to a "compromise" with the government, which could allow Mr Johnson to get his Brexit deal through Parliament. |