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| Brexit: parliament to blame for extension, says No 10 – live news | |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| The Times has been serialising the new book about Theresa May’s premiership by Anthony Seldon and Raymond Newell, but May probably wishes they weren’t. Saturday’s excerpts (paywall) focused on how bad she was as a campaigner. Today’s (paywall) include comments from insiders arguing that she was pretty hopeless at managing cabinet too. Here is an excerpt. | |
| Prime ministers earn authority and respect from ministers in part on how effectively they conduct themselves in cabinet, just as respect from MPs is earned by their conduct in the house. One official in attendance at cabinet comments: “She didn’t enjoy chairing cabinet. Nor did she enjoy the company of cabinet colleagues. I began to think she thought cabinet was a waste of her time. Her initial ambition was of a ‘return to cabinet government’, similar to Gordon Brown when he became prime minister. But it was not true. She had neither the time, nor patience, nor inclination to discuss important matters in cabinet and cabinet committees. Someone said she was a good poker player. But I don’t think that’s true, because she wasn’t that subtle and didn’t think deeply enough. On most prime ministerial issues, other than those she had dealt with at the Home Office, she didn’t have a view at all. She had neither political friends nor any idea that they were important to a prime minister. | |
| Another official adds: “She was the least collegiate prime minister I ever worked with, worse even than Gordon Brown because she was not as bright and lacked his intelligence and vision. She was very insular and couldn’t communicate. She shared one trait with Brown, though: neither trusted people, and both were very tribal.” | |
| There is also a perceptive essay on May in the new book from Steve Richards, The Prime Ministers. He says that, although May was often described as weak, that does not explain her flaws as a PM. | |
| May was often described as ‘weak’. The term is close to useless in casting light on a leader, but as far as it means anything, it points us in the wrong direction here. Politically she was in a much weaker position, but as a personality she remained the most stubborn prime minister to occupy No 10 for many decades - arguably more so than Margaret Thatcher. Often Thatcher was more expedient than she seemed. May was a wilful leader in a weak position: an explosive combination. | |
| The Prime Ministers is superb, one of those rare books that can change the way you think about politics, and I would recommend it strongly. It covers every PM from Harold Wilson to May, focusing not so much on what they did as on what their premierships reveal about leadership, and about what works and what doesn’t. This is a subject often not fully addressed by biographers, and almost never as well as by Richards here. | |
| The Sun’s Matt Dathan has more on today’s shadow cabinet. | The Sun’s Matt Dathan has more on today’s shadow cabinet. |
| At today's meeting of the Shadow Cabinet Diane Abbott tore into Labour MPs opposed to an election, saying the PLP can "go f*** themselves". | At today's meeting of the Shadow Cabinet Diane Abbott tore into Labour MPs opposed to an election, saying the PLP can "go f*** themselves". |
| That full Diane Abbott quote at Shadow Cabinet according to one in the room was: “The PLP were in the tea room and my office crying about an election saying Jeremy should stand down in 2017. So frankly the PLP can go fuck themselves." | That full Diane Abbott quote at Shadow Cabinet according to one in the room was: “The PLP were in the tea room and my office crying about an election saying Jeremy should stand down in 2017. So frankly the PLP can go fuck themselves." |
| In the Commons Priti Patel, the home secretary, has just delivered a statement about the 39 people who were found dead in the back of a lorry in Essex. As well as updating MPs on the fact that a lorry driver has been charged with 39 counts of manslaughter, she said that those who died were the victims of “brutal and unscrupulous criminal gangs” and a reminder of the evils of people trafficking. | In the Commons Priti Patel, the home secretary, has just delivered a statement about the 39 people who were found dead in the back of a lorry in Essex. As well as updating MPs on the fact that a lorry driver has been charged with 39 counts of manslaughter, she said that those who died were the victims of “brutal and unscrupulous criminal gangs” and a reminder of the evils of people trafficking. |
| She said that the nationality of the 39 people who died has still not been confirmed, and that the investigation would be long and meticulous. | She said that the nationality of the 39 people who died has still not been confirmed, and that the investigation would be long and meticulous. |
| She also said the Border Force was increasing its presence at Purfleet and that Belgium was allowing the UK to deploy more border officials in Zeebrugge. | |
| From the Financial Times’s Sebastian Payne | |
| Chatter in Downing Street that the government might "split the difference" on an election date with the Liberal Democrats/SNP in their election bill.Opposition wants December 9, govt wants December 12. "We could meet them half way," hints one insider. https://t.co/effGlT6HIF | Chatter in Downing Street that the government might "split the difference" on an election date with the Liberal Democrats/SNP in their election bill.Opposition wants December 9, govt wants December 12. "We could meet them half way," hints one insider. https://t.co/effGlT6HIF |
| There are five MPs in the Independent Group for Change (aka continuity Change UK). They will not be voting for an early election, Sky’s Lewis Goodall reports. | There are five MPs in the Independent Group for Change (aka continuity Change UK). They will not be voting for an early election, Sky’s Lewis Goodall reports. |
| In a shock bombshell, Anna Soubry confirms that the Independent Group for Change will not be voting for a general election. pic.twitter.com/uY6U6o0L84 | In a shock bombshell, Anna Soubry confirms that the Independent Group for Change will not be voting for a general election. pic.twitter.com/uY6U6o0L84 |
| “Shock bombshell” is sarcasm (not always obvious on Twitter) because it is widely assumed that the IGC MPs will all lose their seats at the election. | “Shock bombshell” is sarcasm (not always obvious on Twitter) because it is widely assumed that the IGC MPs will all lose their seats at the election. |
| Second paragraph contains one of the most bizarre arguments I hear. “A GE will resolve nothing. Indeed it runs a risk of Boris Johnson winning a majority for his disastrous Brexit deal.”Or in other words “we can’t have an election! They might vote for something we don’t like!” pic.twitter.com/Xc0RfdUGH0 | Second paragraph contains one of the most bizarre arguments I hear. “A GE will resolve nothing. Indeed it runs a risk of Boris Johnson winning a majority for his disastrous Brexit deal.”Or in other words “we can’t have an election! They might vote for something we don’t like!” pic.twitter.com/Xc0RfdUGH0 |
| From the Spectator’s James Forsyth | From the Spectator’s James Forsyth |
| Still a lot of Tory nervousness about a December election. As one minister put it to me late last week, ‘Who jumps out of bed on a cold December morning to vote for the government?’ | Still a lot of Tory nervousness about a December election. As one minister put it to me late last week, ‘Who jumps out of bed on a cold December morning to vote for the government?’ |
| ITV’s Joe Pike has more on John Mann. | ITV’s Joe Pike has more on John Mann. |
| Mann is the first member of the Commons to move directly to the Lords since 1892.He is already Baron Mann of Holbeck Moor, but will be introduced into the Lords tomorrow. Former Chief Rabbi @rabbisacks will be one of his supporters. | Mann is the first member of the Commons to move directly to the Lords since 1892.He is already Baron Mann of Holbeck Moor, but will be introduced into the Lords tomorrow. Former Chief Rabbi @rabbisacks will be one of his supporters. |
| Mann will sit as a non-affiliated peer due to his role as the govt's Independent Adviser on Anti-semitism.But he will remain a member of the Labour Party.He will not vote Labour (for @SallyGimson) in the general election because as a member of Lords he can't vote. | Mann will sit as a non-affiliated peer due to his role as the govt's Independent Adviser on Anti-semitism.But he will remain a member of the Labour Party.He will not vote Labour (for @SallyGimson) in the general election because as a member of Lords he can't vote. |
| The Treasury has confirmed that Labour’s John Mann has been appointed steward and bailiff of the Chiltern Hundreds - the archaic process that means he is no longer an MP. He is going to the House of Lords to take up a post as an independent government adviser on antisemitism. | The Treasury has confirmed that Labour’s John Mann has been appointed steward and bailiff of the Chiltern Hundreds - the archaic process that means he is no longer an MP. He is going to the House of Lords to take up a post as an independent government adviser on antisemitism. |
| Mann voted leave in 2016 and was one of the 19 Labour MPs who voted to give Boris Johnson’s withdrawal agreement bill a second reading last week. | Mann voted leave in 2016 and was one of the 19 Labour MPs who voted to give Boris Johnson’s withdrawal agreement bill a second reading last week. |
| The shadow cabinet seems to have wrapped up. | The shadow cabinet seems to have wrapped up. |
| This is from my colleague Rowena Mason. | This is from my colleague Rowena Mason. |
| Labour still planning to abstain on the PM's motion on general election this afternoon. Time to see if No 10 serious about the Lib Dem plan for an election without having another push at the WAB - or whether it was a bluff to put pressure on Labour | Labour still planning to abstain on the PM's motion on general election this afternoon. Time to see if No 10 serious about the Lib Dem plan for an election without having another push at the WAB - or whether it was a bluff to put pressure on Labour |
| This is from the Daily Mirror’s Pippa Crerar. | This is from the Daily Mirror’s Pippa Crerar. |
| NEW: I'm told that Labour's shadow cabinet:- agreed to ABSTAIN on election vote under FTPA tonight - recognise a single line bill is likely to PASS anyway with Tory/ SNP/ LD support- believe Labour MPs "aren't in a good place" on GE and will refuse to vote for it. | NEW: I'm told that Labour's shadow cabinet:- agreed to ABSTAIN on election vote under FTPA tonight - recognise a single line bill is likely to PASS anyway with Tory/ SNP/ LD support- believe Labour MPs "aren't in a good place" on GE and will refuse to vote for it. |
| And this is from the Sun’s Tom Newton Dunn. | And this is from the Sun’s Tom Newton Dunn. |
| No chance of Labour changing its vote today, as its MPs are all on a 1 line whip and wouldn't get to London in time. But I hear Shadow Cabinet is now giving serious thought to backing a general election tomorrow. Source: "We're pretty snookered". | No chance of Labour changing its vote today, as its MPs are all on a 1 line whip and wouldn't get to London in time. But I hear Shadow Cabinet is now giving serious thought to backing a general election tomorrow. Source: "We're pretty snookered". |
| Here are two questions from readers about the Lib Dem/SNP proposal for a general election on Monday 9 December, instead of Thursday 12 December (which is what the government is proposing). | Here are two questions from readers about the Lib Dem/SNP proposal for a general election on Monday 9 December, instead of Thursday 12 December (which is what the government is proposing). |
| What are the advantages of having the election on Monday 9 December, not Thursday 12 December? | What are the advantages of having the election on Monday 9 December, not Thursday 12 December? |
| @AndrewSparrow, can you please elaborate on the pros/cons of a #GE date of 9th vs 12th of December? #Brexit #BrexitExtension | @AndrewSparrow, can you please elaborate on the pros/cons of a #GE date of 9th vs 12th of December? #Brexit #BrexitExtension |
| The Lib Dems have not officially given an explanation for this, but in private, party sources have said one advantage of having the election on the Monday rather than the Thursday is that students are more likely to be at university on the Monday. This is from the academic Ivor Gaber. | |
| The difference is that most university terms end on 13th Dec. but students don’t wait til very end of the week before decamping. Most are registered at term-time address. Hence Lib Dem’s think they’ll get more students voting for them on the 9th rather than the 12th. Clear? | The difference is that most university terms end on 13th Dec. but students don’t wait til very end of the week before decamping. Most are registered at term-time address. Hence Lib Dem’s think they’ll get more students voting for them on the 9th rather than the 12th. Clear? |
| In a very useful analysis for the Higher Education Policy Institute website, Nick Hillman, its director, points out that there are seats where the student vote has clearly helped the Lib Dems. But he also concludes: | In a very useful analysis for the Higher Education Policy Institute website, Nick Hillman, its director, points out that there are seats where the student vote has clearly helped the Lib Dems. But he also concludes: |
| It is hard to find a single general election when the student vote determined who got the keys to Number 10. Even if the contested claim that student support for Jeremy Corbyn made a big difference at the 2017 election is true, Labour still lost (as Kay Burley famously reminded Richard Burgon MP the other day). | It is hard to find a single general election when the student vote determined who got the keys to Number 10. Even if the contested claim that student support for Jeremy Corbyn made a big difference at the 2017 election is true, Labour still lost (as Kay Burley famously reminded Richard Burgon MP the other day). |
| There are other advantages to the Liberal Democrats from a 9 December election. It would allow more time for a new government to agree a Brexit deal, or negotiate another extension, before the 31 January deadline. And it would allow even less time for Boris Johnson to pass his Brexit deal, which is something the Lib Dems are opposing ahead of an early election. | |
| Wouldn’t it be easier to repeal the Fixed-term Parliaments Act, instead of just amending it as the Lib Dems and the SNP propose? | Wouldn’t it be easier to repeal the Fixed-term Parliaments Act, instead of just amending it as the Lib Dems and the SNP propose? |
| @AndrewSparrow Andrew, what is to prevent the government from simply repealing the FTPA 2011, and then having the freedom to call an election when they wish?I must be missing something - but I thought that all that was necessary to repeal an existing act is a simple majority. | @AndrewSparrow Andrew, what is to prevent the government from simply repealing the FTPA 2011, and then having the freedom to call an election when they wish?I must be missing something - but I thought that all that was necessary to repeal an existing act is a simple majority. |
| The Lib Dems and the SNP are proposing legislation that would effectively allow a one-off exemption from the FTPA, to allow an early election to take place this year. Theresa May prepared a similar bill in 2017, although in the end she did not need it because (to her surprise) Labour agreed to vote for an early election (meaning she had the two-thirds majority needed under the FTPA for an election poll to go ahead). | The Lib Dems and the SNP are proposing legislation that would effectively allow a one-off exemption from the FTPA, to allow an early election to take place this year. Theresa May prepared a similar bill in 2017, although in the end she did not need it because (to her surprise) Labour agreed to vote for an early election (meaning she had the two-thirds majority needed under the FTPA for an election poll to go ahead). |
| Another option would be to repeal the FTPA wholesale. But this would effectively put the power to call an election back entirely in the hands of the prime minister, at a time when the trend has been to curtail these prerogative powers (as in the supreme court ruling on article 50), not extend them. In the current circumstances, it is very hard to see how this would get through parliament. | Another option would be to repeal the FTPA wholesale. But this would effectively put the power to call an election back entirely in the hands of the prime minister, at a time when the trend has been to curtail these prerogative powers (as in the supreme court ruling on article 50), not extend them. In the current circumstances, it is very hard to see how this would get through parliament. |
| The Commons standards committee has just published a report on its very long-running inquiry into the Labour MP Keith Vaz. It is recommending that he be suspended as an MP for six months for expressing willingness to buy a class A drug. | The Commons standards committee has just published a report on its very long-running inquiry into the Labour MP Keith Vaz. It is recommending that he be suspended as an MP for six months for expressing willingness to buy a class A drug. |
| Here is an extract from the report (pdf). | Here is an extract from the report (pdf). |
| We have found that Mr Vaz acted in breach of paragraph 16 of the 2015 House of Commons code of conduct. By expressing willingness to purchase a class A drug, cocaine, for others to use, thereby showing disregard for the law, and by failing to cooperate fully with the inquiry process, thereby showing disrespect for the house’s standards system, he has caused significant damage to the reputation and integrity of the House of Commons as a whole. | We have found that Mr Vaz acted in breach of paragraph 16 of the 2015 House of Commons code of conduct. By expressing willingness to purchase a class A drug, cocaine, for others to use, thereby showing disregard for the law, and by failing to cooperate fully with the inquiry process, thereby showing disrespect for the house’s standards system, he has caused significant damage to the reputation and integrity of the House of Commons as a whole. |
| This is a very serious breach of the code. We recommend that the house should suspend Mr Vaz from its service for six months. | This is a very serious breach of the code. We recommend that the house should suspend Mr Vaz from its service for six months. |
| We note that this suspension, if agreed by the House, will trigger the provisions of the Recall of MPs Act 2015 and require a recall petition to be opened in Mr Vaz’s constituency. | We note that this suspension, if agreed by the House, will trigger the provisions of the Recall of MPs Act 2015 and require a recall petition to be opened in Mr Vaz’s constituency. |
| We further recommend that if Mr Vaz were to cease to be a member of the house for whatever reason, he should not be eligible to be granted a former member’s pass. | We further recommend that if Mr Vaz were to cease to be a member of the house for whatever reason, he should not be eligible to be granted a former member’s pass. |
| This recommendation has to be approved by the Commons as a whole, but that is almost automatic in the case of reports from this committee. | |
| No MP has ever been suspended for this long since the second world war, as this report (pdf) confirms, although one Labour MP was expelled from the Commons in 1947, and a Conservative in 1954. | |
| From the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg | From the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg |
| Shadow Cabinet sat down to discuss position at 12 - members aware it's much harder for them to resist call for election with the other two main opposition parties out backing one | Shadow Cabinet sat down to discuss position at 12 - members aware it's much harder for them to resist call for election with the other two main opposition parties out backing one |
| President Macron’s office said France had worked all weekend to insist on very clear conditions written “in black and white” to allow the UK’s Brexit extension. An Élysée official said: | President Macron’s office said France had worked all weekend to insist on very clear conditions written “in black and white” to allow the UK’s Brexit extension. An Élysée official said: |
| All weekend, France took the initiative with Germany, Ireland, Donald Tusk’s team and a few other countries, to fix the terms of the extension very precisely: that the withdrawal agreement isn’t renegotiable, that the UK would follow a code of conduct and allow the EU’s 27 members to meet to discuss other issues for their future [such as the budget], and that the UK must legally appoint a commissioner if the European commission sits before the UK leaves. | All weekend, France took the initiative with Germany, Ireland, Donald Tusk’s team and a few other countries, to fix the terms of the extension very precisely: that the withdrawal agreement isn’t renegotiable, that the UK would follow a code of conduct and allow the EU’s 27 members to meet to discuss other issues for their future [such as the budget], and that the UK must legally appoint a commissioner if the European commission sits before the UK leaves. |
| The Élysée said France’s long-held preference for a much shorter extension had focused minds, put on pressure and allowed those clear conditions to be put in place. | The Élysée said France’s long-held preference for a much shorter extension had focused minds, put on pressure and allowed those clear conditions to be put in place. |
| After Macron was styled by some media as seeking to put a spanner in the works of a longer extension, the Elysée official said this had never been France’s line. | After Macron was styled by some media as seeking to put a spanner in the works of a longer extension, the Elysée official said this had never been France’s line. |
| A veto or tension is not our approach. We always build a collective solution in the end ... The most important issue is the unity of the EU’s 27 members. We wanted to preserve that unity without creating a crisis over Brexit. Because the worst outcome would be for Brexit – a British political crisis – to be imported to the EU and spread a form of poison and division that we don’t want. | A veto or tension is not our approach. We always build a collective solution in the end ... The most important issue is the unity of the EU’s 27 members. We wanted to preserve that unity without creating a crisis over Brexit. Because the worst outcome would be for Brexit – a British political crisis – to be imported to the EU and spread a form of poison and division that we don’t want. |
| The source added that France’s main concern was to stay out of British internal politics and to ensure that a Brexit extension was justified. | The source added that France’s main concern was to stay out of British internal politics and to ensure that a Brexit extension was justified. |
| Some said we were playing Boris Johnson’s game, or the British opposition’s game. We have never tried to take any part in Britain’s internal game. | Some said we were playing Boris Johnson’s game, or the British opposition’s game. We have never tried to take any part in Britain’s internal game. |
| The official said Macron had no interest in imposing a General de Gaulle or Napoleon-inspired “splendid isolation” within the EU. | The official said Macron had no interest in imposing a General de Gaulle or Napoleon-inspired “splendid isolation” within the EU. |
| France has now insisted that in December the EU’s 27 members must sit down in the cold light of day to hold discussions on strategy for the future negotiations over the relationship with the UK. The official said: | France has now insisted that in December the EU’s 27 members must sit down in the cold light of day to hold discussions on strategy for the future negotiations over the relationship with the UK. The official said: |
| It’s healthy to sit down and lay out our ideas for future negotiations, to stop reacting in the heat of the moment to this or that Brexit event. | It’s healthy to sit down and lay out our ideas for future negotiations, to stop reacting in the heat of the moment to this or that Brexit event. |
| Yesterday Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish first minister and SNP leader, posted a thread on Twitter explaining why her party was supporting the Lib Dem call for an early election. She said there was no evidence that there was a majority in parliament now for a second referendum. And she also commended this article by the prominent anti-Brexit journalist Ian Dunt arguing why an election now was probably the best option for remainers. Her thread starts here. | Yesterday Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish first minister and SNP leader, posted a thread on Twitter explaining why her party was supporting the Lib Dem call for an early election. She said there was no evidence that there was a majority in parliament now for a second referendum. And she also commended this article by the prominent anti-Brexit journalist Ian Dunt arguing why an election now was probably the best option for remainers. Her thread starts here. |
| 1/ A thread on our call for a general election. Firstly, we have to ask ourselves what the alternative is. Doing nothing allows Johnson to get his bad deal through (with Lab support) or, even worse, run down clock to end January when no deal becomes a real risk all over again | 1/ A thread on our call for a general election. Firstly, we have to ask ourselves what the alternative is. Doing nothing allows Johnson to get his bad deal through (with Lab support) or, even worse, run down clock to end January when no deal becomes a real risk all over again |
| The SNP normally works closely with Plaid Cymru, the Welsh nationalist party, but on this issue the two nationalist parties are divided. Plaid Cymru says a second referendum should come first. In a statement Liz Saville Roberts, its leader at Westminster, said: | The SNP normally works closely with Plaid Cymru, the Welsh nationalist party, but on this issue the two nationalist parties are divided. Plaid Cymru says a second referendum should come first. In a statement Liz Saville Roberts, its leader at Westminster, said: |
| Boris Johnson has failed to deliver on yet another promise. Working together, opposition parties have stopped Mr Johnson delivering his damaging Brexit deal – or no deal – on Halloween. | Boris Johnson has failed to deliver on yet another promise. Working together, opposition parties have stopped Mr Johnson delivering his damaging Brexit deal – or no deal – on Halloween. |
| Those of us opposed to inflicting the harm of Brexit on the four nations of the UK must now unite again to deliver the most sensible way to end this mess – a final say referendum. | Those of us opposed to inflicting the harm of Brexit on the four nations of the UK must now unite again to deliver the most sensible way to end this mess – a final say referendum. |
| The extension granted by the EU should now be used to secure a people’s vote and end the Brexit chaos. | The extension granted by the EU should now be used to secure a people’s vote and end the Brexit chaos. |
| If the government fail to deliver this, opposition parties must work together, and if necessary, form a caretaker government to deliver this most democratic solution to Brexit. | If the government fail to deliver this, opposition parties must work together, and if necessary, form a caretaker government to deliver this most democratic solution to Brexit. |
| These are from the Daily Mirror’s Dan Bloom. | These are from the Daily Mirror’s Dan Bloom. |
| NEW - Lib Dem source indicates they’ll back a government one-line Bill for a general election, similar to their own, if No10 decide to bring it forward themselves tomorrow. ‘Can’t see any problem’ with that and it’ll actually be ‘some help’ in getting it through the Lords. | NEW - Lib Dem source indicates they’ll back a government one-line Bill for a general election, similar to their own, if No10 decide to bring it forward themselves tomorrow. ‘Can’t see any problem’ with that and it’ll actually be ‘some help’ in getting it through the Lords. |
| Lib Dems have three conditions on backing No10 election Bill:1 Protection from no deal 2 Don’t use it to ram through the WAB3 Date of election must be explicit in Bill | Lib Dems have three conditions on backing No10 election Bill:1 Protection from no deal 2 Don’t use it to ram through the WAB3 Date of election must be explicit in Bill |
| Lib Dem source NOT completely ruling out tabling or backing amendments to an election Bill. ‘Never say never’. But they say many issues could be ruled out of scope and amendments could scupper bid to get it through Commons and Lords in two days. | Lib Dem source NOT completely ruling out tabling or backing amendments to an election Bill. ‘Never say never’. But they say many issues could be ruled out of scope and amendments could scupper bid to get it through Commons and Lords in two days. |
| Ahead of the vote this afternoon on his call for an early election, Boris Johnson has used a Commons written statement to set out the election timetable that would be followed if he secures the two-thirds majority required under the Fixed-term Parliaments Act for an early election to go ahead. He said: | Ahead of the vote this afternoon on his call for an early election, Boris Johnson has used a Commons written statement to set out the election timetable that would be followed if he secures the two-thirds majority required under the Fixed-term Parliaments Act for an early election to go ahead. He said: |
| The government has tabled a motion proposing that an early general election be held. The motion is in the terms set out in section 2(2) of the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011. If agreed to by a super-majority of the House of Commons, an early election will take place in accordance with that act. | The government has tabled a motion proposing that an early general election be held. The motion is in the terms set out in section 2(2) of the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011. If agreed to by a super-majority of the House of Commons, an early election will take place in accordance with that act. |
| In the event this house approves the motion for an early election, I will recommend that Her Majesty the Queen appoints 12 December as the date of the general election. This would mean parliament dissolving just after midnight on 6 November. | In the event this house approves the motion for an early election, I will recommend that Her Majesty the Queen appoints 12 December as the date of the general election. This would mean parliament dissolving just after midnight on 6 November. |
| In line with the Fixed-term Parliaments Act, the date of parliament’s return will be set by royal proclamation following dissolution, and I will recommend to the Queen that the first meeting of the new parliament takes place before 23 December. | In line with the Fixed-term Parliaments Act, the date of parliament’s return will be set by royal proclamation following dissolution, and I will recommend to the Queen that the first meeting of the new parliament takes place before 23 December. |
| Labour says it will only back an early election when a no-deal Brexit has been taken off the table and one concern it has raised is that an early election could result in a new government not taking office until mid January, leaving it very little time to pass a new deal. Johnson declaration that the new parliament would meet before Christmas in the event of the election taking place on Thursday 12 December seems intended to address this point. | Labour says it will only back an early election when a no-deal Brexit has been taken off the table and one concern it has raised is that an early election could result in a new government not taking office until mid January, leaving it very little time to pass a new deal. Johnson declaration that the new parliament would meet before Christmas in the event of the election taking place on Thursday 12 December seems intended to address this point. |
| Government sources are now briefing the broadcasters that if Boris Johnson fails to get the two-thirds majority needed this evening to trigger an early election under the Fixed-term Parliaments Act, he will table a very similar bill tomorrow. These are from Laura Kuenssberg, Robert Peston and Beth Rigby, political editors at the BBC, ITV and Sky respectively. | Government sources are now briefing the broadcasters that if Boris Johnson fails to get the two-thirds majority needed this evening to trigger an early election under the Fixed-term Parliaments Act, he will table a very similar bill tomorrow. These are from Laura Kuenssberg, Robert Peston and Beth Rigby, political editors at the BBC, ITV and Sky respectively. |
| Govt likely to table similar bill to lib Dems and SNP tomorrow if they fail to get election tonight - no 10 source says they 'will introduce a bill almost identical to the Lib Dem-SNP bill and we will have a pre-Christmas election anyway' | Govt likely to table similar bill to lib Dems and SNP tomorrow if they fail to get election tonight - no 10 source says they 'will introduce a bill almost identical to the Lib Dem-SNP bill and we will have a pre-Christmas election anyway' |
| As I mentioned yesterday, @BorisJohnson plan is to bring general-election bill tomorrow “almost identical” to LibDem one if Labour fails to support his election motion tonight. The devil will be in the “almost identical” detail | As I mentioned yesterday, @BorisJohnson plan is to bring general-election bill tomorrow “almost identical” to LibDem one if Labour fails to support his election motion tonight. The devil will be in the “almost identical” detail |
| FTPA vote almost certain to fail. Understand No 10 is instead planning to introduce a Bill similar to LD/SNP one Tues in order to try push for pre-Xmas elec > But if one line Bill, it’s amendable. LDs said wouldn’t amend bill. But Lab surely will & does it then become unfeasible | FTPA vote almost certain to fail. Understand No 10 is instead planning to introduce a Bill similar to LD/SNP one Tues in order to try push for pre-Xmas elec > But if one line Bill, it’s amendable. LDs said wouldn’t amend bill. But Lab surely will & does it then become unfeasible |
| No 10 did not go quite this far on the record at the morning lobby briefing, but journalists who attended were left with the impression that this was being planned (see 12.15pm) and it is also what Gavin Williamson, the education secretary, was suggesting in interviews this morning. (See 8.39am.) | No 10 did not go quite this far on the record at the morning lobby briefing, but journalists who attended were left with the impression that this was being planned (see 12.15pm) and it is also what Gavin Williamson, the education secretary, was suggesting in interviews this morning. (See 8.39am.) |
| There are two Commons statements today, and no urgent questions. That means the debate on holding an early election should start soon after 5.30pm, with the vote soon after 7pm (90 minutes later). | There are two Commons statements today, and no urgent questions. That means the debate on holding an early election should start soon after 5.30pm, with the vote soon after 7pm (90 minutes later). |
| Two statements:1) Update on the major incident in Essex - @patel4witham 2) shared rural network - @NickyMorgan01 | Two statements:1) Update on the major incident in Essex - @patel4witham 2) shared rural network - @NickyMorgan01 |
| Boris Johnson has no intention of apologising for failing to meet his repeatedly promised deadline of 31 October to leave the EU, and believes parliament is to blame for the delay, Downing Street has said. | Boris Johnson has no intention of apologising for failing to meet his repeatedly promised deadline of 31 October to leave the EU, and believes parliament is to blame for the delay, Downing Street has said. |
| At the regular lobby briefing there was not, as yet, a formal response to the EU’s offer of another extension, to 31 January. Johnson’s spokesman said the PM was in Essex on a visit connected to the death last week of 39 people found in the back of lorry. He said: | At the regular lobby briefing there was not, as yet, a formal response to the EU’s offer of another extension, to 31 January. Johnson’s spokesman said the PM was in Essex on a visit connected to the death last week of 39 people found in the back of lorry. He said: |
| The PM has not yet seen the EU’s response to parliament’s request for a delay, and the PM will respond once he has seen the detail. His view has not changed: parliament should not have put the UK in this position and we should be leaving on 31 October. | The PM has not yet seen the EU’s response to parliament’s request for a delay, and the PM will respond once he has seen the detail. His view has not changed: parliament should not have put the UK in this position and we should be leaving on 31 October. |
| With a delay inevitable, Johnson’s spokesman was repeatedly pressed on whether the PM had any contrition for failing to keep to the key campaign pledge which arguably most helped him become Conservative leader and thus enter No 10. The answer, while oblique, was a definite “no”. His spokesman said: | With a delay inevitable, Johnson’s spokesman was repeatedly pressed on whether the PM had any contrition for failing to keep to the key campaign pledge which arguably most helped him become Conservative leader and thus enter No 10. The answer, while oblique, was a definite “no”. His spokesman said: |
| What the prime minister has done, despite being told it was impossible, was secure a deal and set out a timetable which would have allowed us to deliver that deal on 31 October. Parliament has stood in the way of being able to deliver Brexit. | What the prime minister has done, despite being told it was impossible, was secure a deal and set out a timetable which would have allowed us to deliver that deal on 31 October. Parliament has stood in the way of being able to deliver Brexit. |
| Pressed repeatedly on the matter, he eventually said: “I think I’ve said all I have to say on that matter.” | Pressed repeatedly on the matter, he eventually said: “I think I’ve said all I have to say on that matter.” |
| What does seem more likely is that Downing Street could embrace a version of the Lib Dem-inspired plan to force an election via a new bill requiring a simple majority in the Commons, if its attempt to call one through a motion under the Fixed-term Parliaments Act (FTPA) does not reach the necessary two-thirds majority, as seems inevitable. | What does seem more likely is that Downing Street could embrace a version of the Lib Dem-inspired plan to force an election via a new bill requiring a simple majority in the Commons, if its attempt to call one through a motion under the Fixed-term Parliaments Act (FTPA) does not reach the necessary two-thirds majority, as seems inevitable. |
| Asked about the idea of a bill-based election, Johnson’s spokesman said the government was “currently focused on the FTPA bill”. | Asked about the idea of a bill-based election, Johnson’s spokesman said the government was “currently focused on the FTPA bill”. |
| But if this falls, it seems there could be movement on an election bill pretty quickly. It is understood the government could even accept the Lib Dems’ preferred election date of 9 December, meaning that, to allow the required five-week campaign period, the election would need to be called this week. | But if this falls, it seems there could be movement on an election bill pretty quickly. It is understood the government could even accept the Lib Dems’ preferred election date of 9 December, meaning that, to allow the required five-week campaign period, the election would need to be called this week. |
| With parliament not due to sit on Friday, and set to be dominated on Wednesday by the response to the report into the Grenfell tragedy, that would leave Tuesday or Thursday. | With parliament not due to sit on Friday, and set to be dominated on Wednesday by the response to the report into the Grenfell tragedy, that would leave Tuesday or Thursday. |
| Yet even with this tight timetable, so far there have been no talks between the Lib Dems and No 10. | Yet even with this tight timetable, so far there have been no talks between the Lib Dems and No 10. |