Boris
Johnson loses sixth vote in six days as election bid fails
Fresh
setback for PM parliament shuts down amid chaotic scenes
Rowena
Mason Deputy political editor
Tue 10 Sep
2019 02.29 BSTFirst published on Mon 9 Sep 2019 20.29 BST
Boris
Johnson shut down parliament amid chaotic scenes in the early hours of Tuesday
following his sixth parliamentary defeat in six days, as MPs voted to block a
snap election and to force the publication of No 10’s secret preparations for a
no-deal Brexit.
MPs on the
opposition benches shouted: “Shame on you” at Conservative MPs as they filed
out behind the Speaker, John Bercow, during the start of proceedings to
prorogue parliament until 14 October, while others held up signs saying
“silenced”. Renditions of Red Flag, Jerusalem, Flower of Scotland and Bread of
Heaven were also sung.
Bercow told
the Commons “this is not a standard or normal prorogation” and that the move
represented “an act of executive fiat”. Opposition MPs tried to physically stop
Bercow from leaving his chair to go to the House of Lords to finish the
prorogation formalities.
Earlier,
Johnson moved to stop parliament sitting for five weeks and repeatedly refused
to countenance any delay to leaving the EU, even though the bill to prevent a
no-deal Brexit on 31 October passed into law on Monday and MPs refused him a
general election before that date.
Johnson was
also defiant about parliament’s vote, by 311 to 302, for him to publish
Operation Yellowhammer documents detailing the government’s no-deal Brexit
plans, after a leaked version from early August warned of possible food and
medicine shortages.
The motion,
brought by former Tory MP Dominic Grieve, also directed Johnson to disclose
messages relating to the suspension of parliament sent by his senior adviser,
Dominic Cummings and various other aides on WhatsApp, Facebook, other social
media and both their personal and professional phones. Grieve said he had
information from public officials that such correspondence contained a
“scandal”.
But Downing
Street sources suggested Johnson’s advisers would resort to legal action rather
than hand over their communications. Any refusal to comply could put them and
the government in contempt of parliament.
Johnson’s
options then narrowed further on Monday afternoon, as parliament’s bill to
prevent a no-deal Brexit on 31 October received royal assent and passed into
law.
He then
launched his second attempt to get parliament to back a general election in
order to get a mandate to leave the EU by 31 October, accusing Labour leader
Jeremy Corbyn of “preposterous cowardice” for refusing to support one. However,
Corbyn said Johnson could not be allowed to dictate the terms of an election
before a no-deal Brexit was taken off the table.
Only 293
MPs voted to go to the polls, which did not meet the two-thirds threshold of
MPs required under the Fixed-term Parliaments Act. The loss of the vote means
there cannot now be an election until mid-November at the earliest, given
parliament’s suspension.
In a
further setback for No 10, John Bercow, the Speaker of the House of Commons,
announced he would stand down on 31 October if there was no election before
then. This means his immediate successor is likely to be chosen by the current
parliament, in which there is no majority for a no-deal Brexit. It also
confirms Bercow will still be in post during the crucial fortnight when
parliament returns from prorogation in mid-October.
Bercow, who
received a stream of tributes from Labour and other opposition MPs, has been
instrumental in empowering backbenchers to hold the executive to account over
its Brexit policy and to pass the legislation preventing the UK’s departure
from the EU without a deal.
Minutes
after announcing he would step down after 10 years, Bercow said he was allowing
Grieve, a former attorney general, and Corbyn to move humble addresses putting
Johnson under pressure. The device was previously used by MPs to make Theresa
May publish the government’s legal advice on Brexit.
Corbyn’s
address was designed to force Johnson to say he would abide by the rule of law,
amid suggestions the prime minister could try to get around legislation
mandating him to request a three-month delay to Brexit if there is no deal by
19 October.
Johnson’s
official spokesman insisted on Monday that he would abide by the rule of law
but, at the same time, the prime minister has said he would rather “die in a
ditch” than ask for an extension to article 50. Johnson later told the Commons
repeatedly: “I will not ask for another delay.”
Following
the defeats, several Tory MPs said they believed Johnson was trying to find a
way to bring back some of the 21 Conservatives from whom he removed the whip
for defying his Brexit policy last week.
The aim of
the Grieve motion was to prove that Johnson and his administration had misled
MPs with their claim that the move to shut down parliament for five weeks was
not to frustrate debate about Brexit. Grieve said he had asked for the
information relating to prorogation because public officials had informed him
that “they believed the handling of this matter smacked of scandal”.
However,
senior government aides suggested No 10 would refuse to comply, potentially
putting Johnson and senior members of his administration in contempt of
parliament and creating a fresh clash between the executive and MPs.
Cummings
has already been found in contempt of parliament once before after failing to
appear before a select committee investigating fake news. One government source
said the vote was “an abuse of parliamentary procedure and would never have
been allowed under an impartial speaker”.
“If MPs want to seize the private texts of
advisers to their friends, families, colleagues and journalists then they can
speak to people’s lawyers,” they said.
A Downing
Street spokesman said the scope of information requested was “disproportionate
and unprecedented”.
However,
Bercow said the “government must comply with the humble address ... that is the
reality”, even in a period of prorogation.
The
government suspended sitting in the House of Commons and House of Lords until
14 October – a move condemned by opposition parties and anti-no-deal Tories.
Criticising
the prorogation, Corbyn, said it was “disgraceful” and accused Johnson of
wanting to run away from questions.
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