Boris Johnson faces fresh fight to pass his Brexit deal and avoid another ‘Groundhog Week’
BORIS Johnson will today take on Brexit-blockers and launch a make-or-break push to pass his deal and avoid another “Groundhog Week”.
The defiant PM believes he can keep his promise to lead Britain out of the EU on October 31, despite being forced by rebel MPs on Saturday to send a letter requesting yet another delay.
Remainer MPs were warned by Downing Street there must not be another Groundhog Day-style retreading of old ground, and they must take this chance to finally get Brexit done.
But Boris faces a fierce week of parliamentary warfare as Labour has vowed to try to wreck his deal by insisting on adding a Second Referendum to it.
Speaker John Bercow could also block an attempt to hold a Meaningful Vote today — just as he did to Theresa May’s deal.
A No10 source said: “We cannot allow Parliament’s letter to lead to Parliament’s delay — we must leave on October 31 and finally get Brexit done.”
In the first battle of what is set to be a week of bitter fighting, the PM is demanding a Meaningful Vote on his deal today and will publish his Withdrawal Agreement Bill (WAB).
But Bercow could thwart his bid to have a meaningful vote by ruling against him.
And in what is being billed as “Titanic Tuesday”, the WAB will have its first vote tomorrow.
‘HELL ON EARTH’
The Commons will be told to sit late into the night while the Lords could convene at the weekend as No10 scrambles to try to pass the legislation at breakneck speed. One Government aide said the coming days will be “hell on earth” in Parliament.
Cabinet ministers yesterday revealed they believe they have won round enough Labour rebels to pass BoJo’s deal.
Michael Gove said he could “guarantee” Britain will leave the Brussels bloc on October 31. He said: “That’s our determined policy. We know that the EU want us to leave, we know that we have a deal that allows us to leave.”
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab also triumphantly declared: “We seem to have the numbers in the House of Commons. A lot of people say, ‘Get this done and move on’.”
The PM received a boost yesterday when rebel ringleaders Sir Oliver Letwin and Amber Rudd said they will vote for the PM’s deal — after scuppering it on Saturday.
But Labour vowed to try to sabotage Boris’ deal by adding amendments to force a Second Referendum. Shadow Brexit Secretary Keir Starmer said they will table amendments to force Britain to stay in the EU customs union and to stick to single market rules.
The move would torpedo the UK’s ability to strike global free trade deals after Brexit. He also launched an audacious bid to try to woo the DUP’s ten MPs to back or abstain on Labour’s amendments, telling them: “Our door is open.”
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- Can Boris still pass his deal? Yes. The PM wants to hold a meaningful vote (MV) on his Brexit deal, after Remainer rebels torpedoed the last one by forcing a delay. But Commons Speaker John Bercow could stop the vote being called by ruling that MPs already had their say on Saturday. If a MV is held and Boris wins, then the PM would hope his Brexit legislation would quickly pass and the UK could leave on October 31.
- What happens if Boris loses an MV, or isn’t allowed to have one? Mr Johnson can still get his Brexit blueprint through by persuading enough MPs to vote for the Withdrawal Agreement Bill, known as the WAB. The WAB is being published today and will be voted on by MPs on Tuesday. But Labour and the SNP want to hijack the Bill by tabling amendments to keep the UK in the customs union, stick to single market rules, and force another referendum.
- Will the EU help Boris and block an extension? BoJo has been forced to write to Brussels asking for another Brexit delay. But all of the other 27 EU member states have to agree. French President Emmanuel Macron has warned he does not back another extension, and many other EU leaders are getting fed up. If they veto one then MPs will be faced with the stark choice of Boris’s deal or a No Deal on October 31. Faced with that choice, the PM’s deal would almost certainly pass.
- What if MPs do not pass Boris’s deal? If Boris’s Brexit Bill is defeated this week then the PM is expected to try to call a snap election. Labour keep blocking an election, and many in the party are desperate to call and hold a second referendum first. But Jeremy Corbyn has suggested he will back a snap election if Brexit is delayed beyond October 31 – setting the stage for a December election.
Sir Keir told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show: “We’ve been arguing for a very long time now for a customs union with the EU and for single market alignment.
“There are other amendments that are really important because there is a trapdoor to No Deal at the end of 2020 that we need to deal with and close.
“We can do that in the legislation. And, of course, we need an amendment to say that whatever deal gets through, it should be subject to a referendum where that deal is put to the public and they’re asked, ‘Do you want to leave on these terms or would you rather remain in the EU?’ So next week’s going to be busy.”
The SNP and Lib Dems are also expected to table amendments to the deal.
Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith told The Sun MPs must stop their petty attacks on Mr Johnson and take this opportunity to get Brexit done.
He said: “Voters are sick and tired of Parliament. They are beginning to see Boris as the man at the top of the hill who can see the promised land. The rest of the politicians are stuck in the mud kicking each other.
“We have one last shot of getting this deal through.”
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Tory MP Michael Fabricant said: “The nation is crying out — and so am I — for not another Groundhog Week. Let democracy and Parliament be seen to work, and that means delivery at last on the EU referendum result.”
A Government source said: “The public will expect us to move at pace to get the withdrawal agreement passed so we can leave on October 31.
“There will be time for Parliament to consider the legislation and any amendments.”
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