Cross-party
rebel alliance gears up for Brexit clash with Johnson
Hastily
convened group plans to force PM to seek article 50 extension if no deal is
reached
Heather
Stewart, Jessica Elgot and Kate Proctor
Wed 28 Aug
2019 20.58 BST Last modified on Thu 29 Aug 2019 00.55 BST
Rebel MPs
from across the political spectrum are gearing up for a historic parliamentary
clash next week, after Boris Johnson announced plans to suspend parliament for
a critical five-week period in the run-up to Brexit.
Conservative
and opposition MPs took part in a series of hastily convened conference calls
on Wednesday in a last-ditch effort to prevent a no-deal outcome, after the
prime minister confirmed he had obtained permission from the Queen to prorogue
parliament.
The
surprise decision provoked widespread fury, with Commons Speaker John Bercow
describing it as a “constitutional outrage”.
Robert
Kerslake, the former head of the civil service, said Whitehall would have to
think carefully about whether to put ministers’ instructions into effect. “We
are reaching the point where the civil service must consider putting its
stewardship of the country ahead of service to the government of the day,” he
said.
In a letter
to MPs, Johnson insisted the suspension would allow him to focus on his
domestic priorities of funding the NHS and tackling violent crime, and
parliament would have “ample” time to debate Brexit – but it was widely seen as
a bid to curtail MPs’ chances to bind his hands.
The
cross-party rebel alliance agreed to focus on fast-tracking legislation aimed
at mandating the prime minister to request an extension to article 50 if he
fails to strike a new Brexit deal by mid-October.
The fresh
scramble to prevent a no-deal Brexit came on a day of extraordinary drama, as:
• The
leader of the House of Commons, Jacob Rees-Mogg, flew to Balmoral to receive
the Queen’s formal approval for the prorogation plan at a meeting of the privy
council.
• Sterling
tumbled by more than 1 cent against the US dollar, as investors interpreted
Johnson’s ploy as heightening the risks of a no-deal Brexit, before rallying
later in the day to close 0.5 cents down.
• Senior EU
figures were taken aback, with the European parliament’s Brexit coordinator,
Guy Verhofstadt, calling the move, “sinister”.
• A
petition against the suspension of parliament rapidly exceeded 800,000
signatures.
• Jeremy
Corbyn protested against the move in a letter to the Queen.
• Lawyers
for the activist Gina Miller made an urgent application to the high court for a
judicial review of the prime minister’s decision.
Parliament
will now sit for little more than a week from 3 September, before breaking
until 14 October, when a new Queen’s speech will be held setting out what
Johnson called “a bold and ambitious domestic legislative agenda for the
renewal of our country after Brexit”.
In practice,
given MPs do not sit on most Fridays, they are only likely to lose between four
and six sitting days in parliament. MPs would have been due to hold conference
recess anyway, from 12 September until 7 October.
But
Johnson’s gambit squeezes the time available for rebel MPs to act. Their
numbers have been boosted by the sackings of key members of the “Gaukeward
squad”, including former chancellor Philip Hammond, who is expected to
spearhead next week’s efforts.
“At a time
of national crisis parliament must be able to meet to hold the government to
account and to represent our constituents and it is profoundly undemocratic to
shut parliament down to stop it doing its job,” Hammond said.
“We are
determined parliament will show its resolve to stop a no-deal Brexit … We will
have to try to do something when parliament returns next week.”
He could
table a vote of no-confidence in Johnson’s government; but Labour have
repeatedly said they would not do so unless they were convinced of success –
which is deemed unlikely while potential Tory rebels are focused on blocking no
deal through legislation.
Donald
Trump waded into the row on Wednesday, fresh from showering praise on Johnson
at the G7 summit in Biarritz over the weekend. The US president claimed it
would be “very hard” for Corbyn to win a no-confidence vote, because Johnson
was “exactly what the UK has been looking for”.
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One senior
Labour figure speculated that Johnson’s rationale might be to show that he had
been forced into a general election. “Buckle up, summer’s over,” he said.
But Downing
Street insists Johnson is focused on getting a new deal with the EU; and is
determined not to go to the polls before Brexit day, even if he loses a vote of
no confidence.
“We have
been very clear that if there’s a no-confidence vote, he won’t resign. We get
to set an election date. We don’t want an election, but if we have to set a
date, it’s going to be after 31 October,” said a senior government source.
The first
hint that something was afoot came when the chancellor, Sajid Javid, cancelled
a major speech planned for Wednesday, announcing instead that a slimmed-down
spending review will take place next week.
Johnson’s
cabinet, which is packed with veterans of the Vote Leave campaign, were only
informed of the prime minister’s decision to suspend parliament in a conference
call on Wednesday morning – after Johnson had already made a request to the
Queen.
It is blindingly obvious that the purpose of
prorogation now would be to stop parliament debating Brexit
Speaker
John Bercow
Downing
Street insisted this had been the standard approach to planning a Queen’s
speech for previous governments.
During the
conference call, the prime minister stuck resolutely to the line that the
suspension was simply aimed at paving the way for his new government to press
on with its domestic agenda.
No dissent
was expressed, the Guardian understands – though one senior Tory source said
Amber Rudd was “more reserved” than others. They described the culture
secretary, Nicky Morgan, as “enthusiastic as Andrea Leadsom” in supporting the
plan.
The health
secretary, Matt Hancock, faced ridicule on Twitter, with his letter to fellow
candidates during the Tory leadership contest calling on them to rule out
prorogation being widely shared.
Hancock
warned in the letter that “a policy on Brexit to prorogue parliament would mean
the end of the Conservative party as a serious party of government”.
Matt
Hancock
✔
@MattHancock
Proroguing Parliament undermines parliamentary
democracy and risks a general election. I rule it out and call on all
candidates to do the same
Allies said
he had been referring to the more drastic proposal of proroguing parliament
through to exit day – and believes narrowing the window in which MPs can debate
and vote on an improved Brexit deal could help it to pass, by sharpening the
dilemma for MPs.
The rebels’
plan for averting a no-deal Brexit leans heavily on Bercow’s assistance. In an
extraordinary intervention for the Speaker, whose role demands political
neutrality, Bercow said Johnson’s move was a “constitutional outrage”.
“However it
is dressed up, it is blindingly obvious that the purpose of prorogation now
would be to stop parliament debating Brexit and performing its duty in shaping
a course for the country,” he said.
“I have had
no contact from the government, but if the reports that it is seeking to
prorogue parliament are confirmed, this move represents a constitutional
outrage.”
The rebels
believe Bercow, who is often accused of trying to thwart Brexit by Eurosceptic
MPs, will grant a request for an emergency backbench debate – known as an SO24
– on the the first day parliament returns, 3 September.
An
amendable motion could then be voted on in a matter of days. If successful it
would pass to the Lords who would be required to sit in emergency sessions over
the weekend of 7 and 8 September. It must have received royal assent before
parliament is prorogued, or the Commons would have to start again from scratch
when parliament returns on 14 October.
One former
Conservative cabinet minister suggested a key rationale for the government’s
approach was that, by convention, the Queen’s speech is debated for six days –
clogging up the timetable to prevent wrecking manoeuvres.
“They have
worked through the options and decided this is their only reasonably safe
option for delivery on 31 October,” he said.
Johnson
said MPs would get the opportunity to vote on the outcome of the key 17 October
European council meeting, at which he hopes a new Brexit deal will be agreed,
during the following week, on 21 and 22 October – little more than a week
before exit day.
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