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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2019/oct/28/boris-johnsons-election-vote-looms-as-eu-decides-on-brexit-delay-politics-live
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| Brexit: Boris Johnson says parliament has 'run its course' as he opens debate on early election – live news | Brexit: Boris Johnson says parliament has 'run its course' as he opens debate on early election – live news |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| From the Times’ Steven Swinford | |
| Ministers are concerned that if they agree to Dec 9th election it will have just *three days* to get royal assent Whips don't think it's possible to get one-line bill through in that time, especially if there's filibustering in the LordsHence tortuous negotiations over date | |
| I’ve updated some of the earlier posts from the opening of the debate with direct quotes. But to see the updates, you may need to refresh the page. | |
| The DUP’s Brexit spokesman, Sammy Wilson, is speaking now. He says what is on offer is not Brexit for the whole of the UK, because it leaves Northern Ireland in the single market. | |
| He describes the PM’s deal as a “death deal to the union”. | |
| Jo Swinson, the Lib Dem leader, has just finished speaking now. She said that she wanted a second referendum but did not believe there was a majority for it in the Commons. That is why she wanted an early election, she said. She argued that this provided the best chance of stopping Brexit. | |
| Anna Soubry, the former Tory MP who now leads the Independent Group for Change, intervened. She said she thought there was now a majority in the Commons for a confirmatory referendum. Swinson did not accept this. | |
| Like Blackford, Swinson also defends giving 16 and 17-year-olds the right to vote - but without making it a precondition for backing an early election. | |
| Ian Blackford, the SNP’s leader at Westminster, told MPs that his party would not back the motion for a December 12 election but would support efforts for a December 9 poll. | |
| If we enable this motion to pass, we will be out [of the EU] before the prime minister’s election. We cannot allow the Prime Minister to railroad through this disastrous so-called deal. | |
| We will support the Liberal Democrats’ proposals for an election before Brexit can happen, with no reintroduction of the withdrawal agreement bill. | |
| Because given the way that some Labour MPs voted we cannot trust Labour to block the Bill in future. | |
| Asked by the Tory Brexiter Iain Duncan Smith if the SNP would insist on amending an early election bill to allow 16 and 17-year-olds to vote, Blackford said his party favoured this because it was the right thing to do. (In Scotland 16 and 17-year-olds were given the vote for the 2014 independence referendum, and subsequently they were allowed to vote in elections to the Scottish parliament and for local government.) But Blackford did not appear to insist on this as a red line. | |
| From RTE’s Tony Connelly on Boris Johnson’s letter to Donald Tusk. | |
| 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 | |
| This is what Jeremy Corbyn said about the conditions that would need to be apply for Labour to back an early election. He said: | |
| Many of us are very cautious of believing anything the prime minister said. We want it tied down before we agree to anything. | |
| The 12 December election is less than a fortnight before Christmas, nine days before the shortest day of the year. The house must consider that in parts of this country it will be dark before 4pm. Many students will have just finished their term and gone home for Christmas ... and they risk being disenfranchised ... | |
| As I was saying about students and their opportunity to vote on the dates in question, the latter point may not be the case on the 9 December and we will consider carefully any legislation proposed that locks in the date. | |
| The theme of this is we don’t trust the prime minister. We want something that definitely and definitively takes no deal off the table and ensures that the voting rights of all of our citizens are protected ... | |
| We agree that an early election is necessary. But also seek good reason, since no general election has been held in December since 1923 ... | |
| When no deal is off the table, when the date for an election can be fixed in law, and when we can ensure that students are not being disenfranchised, we will back an election so this country can get the government it needs. | |
| And here are the main points. | |
| Corbyn appeared to rule out accepting an early election on Thursday 12 December, the government’s preferred date. He suggested this would lead to students being disenfranchised. | |
| But he suggested that Labour could back on early election taking place on Monday 9 December (the date proposed by the Lib Dems and the SNP). But the date would have to be set in law, he said (something that would happen if MPs passed an amendment to the Fixed-term Parliament’s Act for an early election, but not if MPs used a FTPA super-majority vote to trigger one - because that mechanism would allow the PM to decide the election date.) | |
| Labour sources are saying it would be a mistake to take Corbyn’s words as implying that he favours an election in early January. (See 5.48pm.) That would involve the election campaign taking place over the Christmas holidays - something that would probably be as popular with voters as the plague. | |
| Journalists are split over the precise implications of Corbyn’s words. | Journalists are split over the precise implications of Corbyn’s words. |
| This is from the BBC’s Iain Watson. | This is from the BBC’s Iain Watson. |
| And @jeremycorbyn says a Dec 12 election will be after many students have finished term and the right to vote is important - this doesnt apply to Dec 9th the #snp and @libdems date | And @jeremycorbyn says a Dec 12 election will be after many students have finished term and the right to vote is important - this doesnt apply to Dec 9th the #snp and @libdems date |
| And this is from HuffPost’s Paul Waugh. | And this is from HuffPost’s Paul Waugh. |
| Pretty clear from Corbyn that he wont ever enable a December general election. Talks of students not disenfranchised as new test...suggests to me earliest election he would back will be 2nd week of January | Pretty clear from Corbyn that he wont ever enable a December general election. Talks of students not disenfranchised as new test...suggests to me earliest election he would back will be 2nd week of January |
| I will post the exact quotes in a moment so that you are better able to judge who’s right. | I will post the exact quotes in a moment so that you are better able to judge who’s right. |
| Corbyn also says he is opposed to an election on Thursday 12 December, particularly because students might not be at university to vote. | Corbyn also says he is opposed to an election on Thursday 12 December, particularly because students might not be at university to vote. |
| Corbyn on why he opposed 12 December;- Lack of daylight - Many students will have gone home from where they’re registered to vote | Corbyn on why he opposed 12 December;- Lack of daylight - Many students will have gone home from where they’re registered to vote |
| Corbyn says Labour will not agree to an early election until the government has committed itself to a specific date. | Corbyn says Labour will not agree to an early election until the government has committed itself to a specific date. |
| This is significant because it implies Labour could support, or at least abstain on, legislation to amend the Fixed-term Parliaments Act to allow an early election. | This is significant because it implies Labour could support, or at least abstain on, legislation to amend the Fixed-term Parliaments Act to allow an early election. |
| Labour’s Stephen Doughty intervenes to say there are rumours that Johnson will not even stand as an MP at the election in his constituency, Uxbridge and South Ruislip (where he had a majority of 5,034 at the last election). Johnson may stand in Sevenoaks (where there was a Tory majority of 21,917 in 2017) or East Yorkshire (where it was 15,006), Doughty says. | Labour’s Stephen Doughty intervenes to say there are rumours that Johnson will not even stand as an MP at the election in his constituency, Uxbridge and South Ruislip (where he had a majority of 5,034 at the last election). Johnson may stand in Sevenoaks (where there was a Tory majority of 21,917 in 2017) or East Yorkshire (where it was 15,006), Doughty says. |
| Johnson shakes his head but does not intervene. | Johnson shakes his head but does not intervene. |
| UPDATE: Corbyn also took an intervention from the Labour MP Paula Sherriff who said Johnson still had not apologised for what he said to her in a debate in September implying her concerns about death threats to MPs were “humbug”. | |
| Corbyn replied: | |
| I will be happy to give way now to the prime minister if he wants to get up and apologise to my friend for what he said about her during that debate. | |
| Johnson replied: | |
| I will happily apologise if the shadow chancellor would for instance apologise for inviting the population to lynch [Tory minister Esther McVey]. | |
| Corbyn said: “Sorry seems to be the hardest word, doesn’t it?” | |
| Jeremy Corbyn is responding to Boris Johnson. | Jeremy Corbyn is responding to Boris Johnson. |
| He says Johnson has broken his promises. | He says Johnson has broken his promises. |
| This is a prime minister who cannot be trusted. Having illegally prorogued parliament for five weeks for his Queen’s speech, he now abandons that Queen’s speech. | |
| He got his deal through a second reading then abandoned it. He promised us a budget on November 6 and then he abandoned that too. | |
| He said he would never ask for an extension and he said he would rather die in a ditch - another broken promise. | |
| The government spent £100m on an advertising campaign saying the UK would be leaving the EU on 31 October. He says that money could have been spend on food parcels for food banks, or social care packages. | The government spent £100m on an advertising campaign saying the UK would be leaving the EU on 31 October. He says that money could have been spend on food parcels for food banks, or social care packages. |
| He says an investigation for Channel 4’s Dispatches programme has revealed that the government has been holding secret meetings with US drug companies about the price paid for drugs by the NHS. | He says an investigation for Channel 4’s Dispatches programme has revealed that the government has been holding secret meetings with US drug companies about the price paid for drugs by the NHS. |
| He says the prime minister has not confirmed that he will be accepting the extension offered by the EU. | He says the prime minister has not confirmed that he will be accepting the extension offered by the EU. |
| This provokes much jeering from MPs who have been reading Twitter on their phones. Johnson intervenes and says he has sent a letter to the EU confirming that he will obey the law. | This provokes much jeering from MPs who have been reading Twitter on their phones. Johnson intervenes and says he has sent a letter to the EU confirming that he will obey the law. |
| (Corbyn will have written his speech before the text of the PM’s letter to Tusk was published. See 5.31pm.) | (Corbyn will have written his speech before the text of the PM’s letter to Tusk was published. See 5.31pm.) |
| Boris Johnson has written to Donald Tusk, president of the European council, confirming that the UK is accepting the extension offered by the EU. Under the Benn Act, he had no choice. See 10.13am. Here is his letter (pdf). | Boris Johnson has written to Donald Tusk, president of the European council, confirming that the UK is accepting the extension offered by the EU. Under the Benn Act, he had no choice. See 10.13am. Here is his letter (pdf). |
| In the letter Johnson urges the EU to rule out any further extension beyond 31 January. | In the letter Johnson urges the EU to rule out any further extension beyond 31 January. |
| Johnson accuses Jeremy Corbyn of wanting to frustrate the wishes of the people. | Johnson accuses Jeremy Corbyn of wanting to frustrate the wishes of the people. |
| Corbyn has “run out of excuses”, he says. | Corbyn has “run out of excuses”, he says. |
| He says first Corbyn said the Benn act would have to pass for Labour to back an election. | He says first Corbyn said the Benn act would have to pass for Labour to back an election. |
| Then Corbyn said the Benn act would have to be implemented, Johnson says. | Then Corbyn said the Benn act would have to be implemented, Johnson says. |
| And now Corbyn is coming up with more extreme excuses, he says. He says Corbyn now wants the government to rule out a no-deal Brexit at the end of 2020. | And now Corbyn is coming up with more extreme excuses, he says. He says Corbyn now wants the government to rule out a no-deal Brexit at the end of 2020. |
| We must have an election now, we cannot continue with this endless delay, and I don’t know about you Mr Speaker, but I think the leader of the opposition has now run out of excuses ... | |
| And he’s still coming up with ever more ludicrous excuses for hiding from the British people. | |
| Now he says we’ve got to take no-deal off the table at the end of the transition period in December 2020. | |
| Would it not make sense, according even to his own logic, for him to agree to an election now, so that he can have an opportunity to take no-deal off the table himself - isn’t that the logic of his position? | |
| He says Corbyn’s allies, like the Lib Dems and the SNP, are deserting him. | He says Corbyn’s allies, like the Lib Dems and the SNP, are deserting him. |
| He can run, but he cannot hide forever. Across parliament, his supposed allies are deserting him. The SNP, I now read, are in favour of an election, and the Lib Dems are in favour of an election. | |
| What an incredible state of affairs that there is one party tonight that is actually against a general election. There is one party that does not trust the people of this country, and that is the principal party of opposition. | |
| I hope he accepts tonight that he is snookered, that this charade has gone on for long enough, that he will agree to allow Brexit to get done, and then allow us to make our cases to the people. | |
| And, when that election comes, the people of this country will have to make a choice between a government that delivers, a government that not only got a great Brexit deal when they said it was impossible, but which is also putting 20,000 more police on the streets, delivering the biggest hospital building programme in a generation, investing £14bn more in our schools in levelling up education funding across the country, a great one nation Conservative government, which is what we represent, and a Labour opposition that would turn the year 2020 into a toxic tedious torture of two more referendums. | |
| The DUP MP Ian Paisley intervenes. If Boris Johnson wins the election, will he implement the Brexit deal he negotiated? Or will he try and renegotiate the provisions for Northern Ireland. | The DUP MP Ian Paisley intervenes. If Boris Johnson wins the election, will he implement the Brexit deal he negotiated? Or will he try and renegotiate the provisions for Northern Ireland. |
| Johnson says he will be campaigning to implement the “excellent deal” he negotiated. | Johnson says he will be campaigning to implement the “excellent deal” he negotiated. |
| Boris Johnson is opening the debate on his motion calling for an early election. It is the third time he has asked MPs to vote on this. After both previous debates Johnson won the vote - but not with the two-thirds majority required under the Fixed-term Parliaments Act for the vote to count. | Boris Johnson is opening the debate on his motion calling for an early election. It is the third time he has asked MPs to vote on this. After both previous debates Johnson won the vote - but not with the two-thirds majority required under the Fixed-term Parliaments Act for the vote to count. |
| He starts by saying that MPs do not want an early election. | He starts by saying that MPs do not want an early election. |
| But there is a widespread view that this parliament has “run its course”, he says. He says it is not capable of delivering on the priorities of the people. | But there is a widespread view that this parliament has “run its course”, he says. He says it is not capable of delivering on the priorities of the people. |
| Across the country there is a widespread view that this parliament has run its course. | |
| I simply do not believe that this house is capable of delivering on the priorities of the people, whether that means Brexit or anything else. | |
| This is from the Conservative Brexiter MP Craig Mackinlay. | This is from the Conservative Brexiter MP Craig Mackinlay. |
| Looks like disgraceful Benn/#SurrenderAct has delivered what the #Brexit blockers intended -a foul & unwanted extension. So be it; gives us the time that wasn’t available to the #PM to reopen the #WA and get changes to #NIProtocol to the satisfaction of @duponline. #Silverlining | Looks like disgraceful Benn/#SurrenderAct has delivered what the #Brexit blockers intended -a foul & unwanted extension. So be it; gives us the time that wasn’t available to the #PM to reopen the #WA and get changes to #NIProtocol to the satisfaction of @duponline. #Silverlining |
| Steve Baker, the Tory MP who chairs the European Research Group, which represents hardline Brexiters, thinks his colleague has a point. | Steve Baker, the Tory MP who chairs the European Research Group, which represents hardline Brexiters, thinks his colleague has a point. |
| It’s a good point worth exploring. https://t.co/aNt2rjLcMP | It’s a good point worth exploring. https://t.co/aNt2rjLcMP |
| The Scottish parliament’s information centre has produced a 39-page briefing (pdf) on what the withdrawal agreement bill means for Scotland. | The Scottish parliament’s information centre has produced a 39-page briefing (pdf) on what the withdrawal agreement bill means for Scotland. |