Brexit delay in EU hands as Boris Johnson mulls General Election

Lawmakers have stuck their teeth into a debate on Boris Johnson’s Queen’s Speech, and the issue of Brexit is momentarily on the backburner.

That will change very soon, of course; EU leaders are currently weighing up Britain’s request for another extension to the process, the length and format of which will heavily shape the next steps.

A general election is still on the cards too, and Johnson flirted with the idea of calling one in Parliament earlier – but he hasn’t done so yet.

But for now, we’re closing down our live coverage.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has defended rebel MPs in his own party from abuse, after 19 voted in favor of Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal last night.

Lisa Nandy, one of those who went against the party whip, shared two emails she received on Twitter this morning that called her “scum” and a “traitor” for supporting the bill.

A spokesperson for Corbyn told the PA news agency: “He has made very clear that there shouldn’t be abuse inside the Labour Party or inside politics and that we would seek to rely on persuasion to keep the Labour Party together in this process and that’s what we’ve done all the way through.”

Nandy has also stressed on Twitter that she only backed the bill to get it to the stage in Parliament where it can be amended and altered.

Boris Johnson leaves 10 Downing Street on his way to Parliament on Wednesday morning.

One step forward, two steps back. That seems to be the pace at which the UK is moving towards its exit from the European Union, even as it nears its current Brexit deadline at the end of the month.

The on-again, off-again process took another twist on Tuesday, as Boris Johnson finally won a vote on a Brexit deal in Parliament – only to have his hopes dashed minutes later, when MPs rejected his three-day timetable to rush the legislation through the Commons.

Johnson responded by “pausing” the process, while London waits to see whether the EU will grant an extension to the October 31 deadline.

Here’s an explainer on what you need to know about Brexit today.

Boris Johnson refused to give up on his October 31 Brexit deadline after being asked whether he would relax his timetable for the votes on his deal.

Ken Clarke, the Father of the House (longest serving MP) and former Conservative, suggested Johnson bring back a timetable more acceptable to lawmakers to get his deal over the line.

But Johnson deferred to the awaited EU decision on whether to grant the UK a Brexit delay. “Alas, we cannot now know what the EU will do in response to the request from Parliament” for an extension, he said, adding: “I stress, it wasn’t my request.”

“I don’t think that people of this country want a delay, I don’t want a delay, I intend to press on, but I’m afraid we now have to see what our EU friends will decide on our behalf,” Johnson added. 

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn earlier met with Johnson’s team, also attempting to work out an alternative timetable for the bill. But the meeting appears to have ended without an agreement.

A Labour spokesperson said after the talks: “Jeremy Corbyn reiterated Labour’s offer to the Prime Minister to agree a reasonable timetable to debate, scrutinise and amend the Withdrawal Agreement Bill, and restated that Labour will support a general election when the threat of a no-deal crash out is off the table.”

Opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn asks Boris Johnson whether he still “agrees with himself” after the Prime Minister ruled out putting a customs border in the Irish Sea, before doing just that in his Brexit deal.

“I believe that the Union is preserved,” Johnson says. “I think it’s a bit rich to hear from (Corbyn) about his sentimental attachment to the fabric of the union … when he has spent most of his political lifetime supporting the IRA,” Johnson adds, to cheers from his backbenchers.

“The United Kingdom is preserved whole and entire by these arrangements,” the PM adds.

Johnson is then asked by Scottish National Party lawmaker Ian Blackford whether the Scottish Parliament will have any say in the Brexit process.

The Prime Minister predictably says no, but he then adds that Blackford’s party and other opposition groups should back his offer of a general election.

It’s notable that Johnson isn’t walking back his election rhetoric, given that it now looks a far more realistic prospect if the EU grants a Brexit delay.

Blackford follows up by urging Johnson to indeed call for a poll. “What an exciting development,” Johnson replies. “Perhaps he might pass some of his courage down the line.”

Johnson then takes a question from one of his backbenchers, asking when Britain will leave the EU.

He starts his answer by repeating his favorite slogan – before adding a rather important caveat. “We will leave the EU on October 31, if honorable members opposite will comply,” Johnson says.

Jeremy Corbyn is focusing on the issue of healthcare in PMQs, accusing Boris Johnson to failing to stem a creeping privatization of the UK’s National Health Service (NHS).

Corbyn notes that Johnson’s Withdrawal Agreement Bill fails to protect against the NHS being put on the table in future trade deals after Brexit.

Johnson rejects the accusation and touts his own health policies.

“I understand his visceral dislike of America an his visceral dislike of free trade,” Johnson responds to the question on trade deals.

“I actually asked the Prime Minister which clause in the bill protects our NHS,” Corbyn retorts.

Corbyn is refusing to hammer Johnson directly on his Brexit strategy – which could have been a fragile position after a number of his own MPs back Johnson’s bill last night.

But his attempts to connect Brexit with the NHS could be a preview of his party’s messaging in an upcoming election.

Boris Johnson was urged to “get rid of Dominic Cummings,” his adviser and the supposed mastermind of his Brexit strategy, at the start of Prime Minister Questions.

“I receive excellent advice from a wide range of advisers,” he responded to Labour MP Rupa Huq, who asked the unexpected first question.

“It is the role of advisers to advise and government to decide … I take full responsibility for everything this government does,” Johnson added.

The Prime Minister is taking a grilling in Parliament from Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and other MPs. Follow live updates here.

European Union leaders are weighing up the UK’s request for another Brexit extension, with the general consensus being that they will grant a flexible delay which would be broken if Parliament approves a deal.

Annika Breidthardt, a European Commission spokesperson, said on Wednesday: “We take note of the votes the House of Commons last night. President Tusk is now consulting EU27 leaders on the UK’s request to extend article 50 the 31st January 2020 and you will have seen that he tweeted last night. It is therefore first and foremost the UK to explain its next steps. We will continue to follow all events in London this week very closely.”

David Sassoli, the European Parliament President, added in a statement after last night’s votes in the House of Commons: “After the vote of the British Parliament to allow more time to examine details of the withdrawal agreement and Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s decision to pause the bill following the vote, the British government’s request for an extension until January 31 remains on the table.

“I think it is advisable, as requested by President Donald Tusk, that the European Council should accept this extension.

“This extension will allow the United Kingdom to clarify its position and the European Parliament to exercise its role.”

Boris Johnson leaves Downing Street for PMQs.

After losing the vote over his Brexit timetable in Parliament last night, Boris Johnson apparently lost a similarly hard-fought battle with a comb this morning.

But the Prime Minister has emerged from Downing Street and made his way to Parliament nonetheless. He’ll take part in Prime Minister’s Questions at 12 p.m. (7 a.m. ET).

As we wait for the EU to decide on an extension to the Brexit process, Boris Johnson must decide whether to come good on his pledge to call an election rather than stomach a lengthy delay.

If Parliament “gets its way and decides to delay everything,” Johnson told the Commons on Tuesday, “the bill will have to be pulled and we will have to go forward… to a general election.”

“I will in no way allow months more of this,” Johnson added.

His wording left room for a short, technical extension, however – and Johnson didn’t push for a poll after losing the vote on his timetable last night.

The Prime Minister may feel he is so close to passing his Brexit deal that a snap poll would be counterproductive.

That’s certainly the theory of Labour’s shadow chancellor John McDonnell, who tweeted last night that “Johnson’s bluff of threatening to call general election tonight was called & ignored.”

Johnson has been pushing for an election for weeks, only to be thwarted by Labour – who have said they’ll only go to the polls when no-deal is off the table.

The irony of the situation is that Labour would now likely back a vote – but Johnson may not offer it.

Given that the two sides have agreed to disagree at every stage of the Brexit process, such a standoff would be squarely on brand.

Boris Johnson’s mixed day in Parliament is dominating the front pages of British newspapers, many of which have started sprinkling in some Halloween-related puns as the clock ticks down to the Prime Minister’s October 31 deadline.

The Financial Times notes Johnson’s “landmark” success in finally getting a Brexit deal through Parliament – but adds that the October 31 cutoff set by the PM is all but gone.

“MPs thwart PM again,” says the Metro – which adds that Johnson was left “clinging by his fingertips” to his “do or die” vow to take Britain out of the EU by the end of this month.

The Mirror said Johnson was facing a “Brexit horror” in their headline (which they managed to squeeze under a banner focusing on CNN’s royal exclusive yesterday).

The Telegraph said Brexit is now in “purgatory,” while the Mail criticized MPs for “torpedoing” Johnson’s deadline. “Trust this lot to turn triumph into disaster!” their headline exclaims, over MPs voting down the government’s timetable.

Boris Johnson leaves Parliament on Tuesday night.

Boris Johnson always had a mountain to climb if he wanted to get Brexit done before the end of this month. He’s taken a few short steps up the foothills, but is short on supplies with a considerable climb left.

On Tuesday night, the UK Prime Minister could take heart from the fact that he achieved something that eluded his predecessor Theresa May, when, for the first time in this tortuous process, Parliament finally declared itself in favor of something related to Brexit.

It was not quite the “meaningful vote” on the substance of his deal that Johnson craved – that fell by the wayside on Saturday – but it was a positive result nonetheless.

Technically, Members of Parliament (MPs) agreed to advance Johnson’s Withdrawal Agreement Bill through the House of Commons. The Prime Minister won by a pretty comfortable margin of 30 – no small thing for a government with a majority of minus 40.

But the celebrations were short lived. Just a few minutes later, lawmakers defied Johnson in a second vote when they rejected his plans for an accelerated legislative timetable, throwing a big pile of rocks into his path.

Read more here.

Good morning from London.

With just eight days to go (in theory) until the UK leaves the EU, the Brexit process is in limbo once more.

Boris Johnson failed to fast-track his Withdrawal Agreement Bill (WAB) through Parliament, in a major set back for the UK Prime Minister – meaning his dream of an October 31 Brexit now seems seriously unlikely.

The Prime Minister did, however, claim a victory in principle – after the bill passed its “second reading” in the House of Commons. After three years of agonizing Brexit debates, it’s the first time lawmakers agreed on a way forward.

Despite warnings from the government that no-deal preparations now must “accelerate,” the EU looks set to grant Britain another extension. European Council President Donald Tusk tweeted soon after Tuesday’s Westminster votes that he will recommend the bloc accepts the request for a delay that Johnson was forced to send on Saturday.

On Wednesday, lawmakers will debate the Queen’s Speech, instead of Brexit, and Johnson will face a barrage of questions during Prime Minister’s Questions at 12 p.m. (7 a.m. ET).