Johnson signals he will push on with election plans as October 31 deadline in tatters
Boris Johnson has signalled he will push on with plans for a general election after his pledge to take Britain out of the EU by the end of this month was left in tatters.
The British Prime Minister will introduce legislation for a poll on December 9 if his bid for an election three days later fails on Monday night, as is widely expected, a Number 10 source said.
Mr Johnson’s election bid on Monday, to be made under the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act (FTPA), would require a two-thirds Commons majority – 434 MPs – to agree to an election on December 12.
But the Liberal Democrats and SNP have put forward a tightly-drafted Bill that would grant an election on December 9.
A Downing Street source said: “Tonight is Labour’s last chance to have an election with Brexit done – they can vote tonight for the 12th and get Brexit done before Parliament is dissolved.
“If not, we will introduce a Bill almost identical to the SNP Bill tomorrow and we will have a pre-Christmas election anyway.
“This Parliament has repeatedly failed to respect its promise to respect the referendum.
“Millions of families and businesses can’t plan because of constant delays. We need a new Parliament by Christmas so we can Get Brexit Done in January and the country can move on.”
🗣 Boris Johnson: We get on with serving the people of this country 🇬🇧
— Conservatives (@Conservatives) October 28, 2019
👍Back Boris. pic.twitter.com/Ur6IOOCpNB
Lib Dem sources said they would need to see any Bill brought forward by the Government before deciding whether to support it.
One source said that it had to contain protection against a no-deal break, with the date of the election stipulated in the legislation.
“It is about making sure that Boris Johnson in some cunning fashion cannot engineer a situation where we crash out of the EU without a deal,” the source said.
EU agree Brexit extension to January 31
Britain will remain in the European Union until next year unless Parliament ratifies Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal sooner, the remaining member states have agreed.
Following a meeting of ambassadors, European Council president Donald Tusk said the EU27 would accept the UK’s request for a Brexit “flextension” until January 31.
The British Prime Minister has said in the past that he would prefer to be “dead in a ditch” than miss the October 31 deadline.
The EU27 has agreed that it will accept the UK's request for a #Brexit flextension until 31 January 2020. The decision is expected to be formalised through a written procedure.
— Charles Michel (@eucopresident) October 28, 2019
Mr Tusk tweeted: “The EU27 has agreed that it will accept the UK’s request for a #Brexit flextension until 31 January 2020.
“The decision is expected to be formalised through a written procedure.”
The announcement will pile pressure on opposition parties to decide whether to back a pre-Christmas general election, with MPs voting later on Monday on a Government bid to hold a poll on December 12.
Labour has said it will only back the move if Mr Johnson makes “absolutely clear” that no-deal is off the table and a January extension is granted.
But the Liberal Democrats and SNP have put forward a tightly-drafted Bill that would grant an election on December 9 – three days earlier than the PM’s suggested polling date – as long as the European Union grants an extension until January 31.
The Prime Minister’s election bid on Monday, to be made under the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act (FTPA), would require a two-thirds Commons majority – 434 MPs – to agree to an election on December 12.
