Commons
Brexit showdown — watch like a pro
The likely
rundown for an historic day in the UK parliament.
By JACK BLANCHARD 9/3/19, 9:07 AM CET Updated 9/3/19, 10:11 AM CET
Boris
Johnson will hold meetings with Tory rebels in Downing Street Tuesday | Chris J
Ratcliffe/Getty Images
LONDON —
Anti-no deal MPs plan to introduce legislation today to prevent the U.K.
government pursuing a no-deal Brexit. They must first introduce a motion that
will allow them to take control of the House of Commons agenda, which is
usually in the hands of the government.
Here's how
a day of historic parliamentary drama is likely to pan out. As ever, timings are
subject to change.
Mid-morning:
Labour chief Jeremy Corbyn will host another meeting of opposition leaders in
his Commons office as the so-called Rebel Alliance plots tactics ahead of
tonight's vote. Alongside Corbyn and his senior aides will be Shadow Chancellor
John McDonnell, Opposition Chief Whip Nick Brown, Shadow Brexit Secretary Keir
Starmer and Shadow Leader of the Commons Valerie Vaz. Attendees from other
parties will include SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford, Lib Dem leader Jo
Swinson, Plaid Cymru Westminster leader Liz Saville Roberts, TIG for Change
leader Anna Soubry and Green Party's Caroline Lucas.
Also
mid-morning: Boris Johnson will hold meetings with Tory rebels in Downing
Street, as he tries to pick off their numbers one by one.
11 a.m.:
Briefing for lobby hacks from Downing Street on the latest developments with
Brexit, the general election and — naturally — the PM's new dog. Luckily for
democracy, the BuzzFeed Fun Police will be keeping a close eye on journalists
to make sure every question strikes a suitably solemn tone. Anyone cracking
jokes will be chewed up and turned into clickbait before the afternoon is out.
2.30 p.m.:
The Commons returns from its six-week summer recess with an hour of FCO
questions. It will be Raab's first outing at the dispatch box as foreign
secretary, and we can expect a combative session. But let's face it — this is
the calm before the storm.
3.30 p.m.:
Lib Dem Jane Dodds sworn is as parliament's newest MP, swelling the Rebel
Alliance numbers by one.
3.32 p.m.:
Assuming there are no Urgent Questions, Prime Minister Boris Johnson will take
the floor to make a Commons statement on his attendance at the G7 summit. But
before he does so keep a close eye on Commons Speaker John Bercow, who may just
seek to bag his own moment in the limelight with a few stern words about the
PM's decision to prorogue parliament next week. We may also get points of order
raised by MPs seeking to make a point about the current power struggle. Once
Johnson's statement is out of the way, expect an angry rebuttal from Corbyn,
who is bound to take him to task over both prorogation and no deal in a speech
designed to be clipped on social media ahead of the looming election campaign.
Then the floor gets thrown open to backbench MPs for a couple of hours of angry
debate.
5.30 p.m.:
Timings now are a guess, but around this point Bercow is likely to bring the
curtain down on the PM's statement and give the floor to Michael Gove, the
Cabinet minister in charge of no-deal planning, for his update on no-deal
preparations. We're expecting Shadow Cabinet Office Minister Jon Trickett to
lead for Labour, though that has not yet been confirmed.
6.30
p.m.-ish: Pivotal moment of the day as a leading Rebel Alliance member — we
don't yet know who — submits their application under Standing Order 24 for an
emergency debate on no deal. At this stage it will be all eyes on the
application. By convention, these debates take the form of neutral motions
which simply say "this House has considered XXXX" — in other words,
no more than a talking shop. But the plan tonight is to put forward something
radically different, concluding with a vote to temporarily change Commons rules
and give backbenchers control of the order paper Wednesday. The MP making the
application has three minutes to make their case in the Commons, and then it's
all eyes on Bercow as he makes his historic ruling. If he fails to grant the
debate, the Rebel Alliance's game is up. But the widespread expectation is this
speaker is prepared to rewrite the Commons rulebook and give the rebels the
chance to take control. Expect fury from the government benches if he does so.
6.40
p.m.-ish: Interim as the Commons empties while Tory MP Chris Philp unveils a
private member's bill designed to mitigate air pollution. It's an important
issue, but in truth this bill is never going to see the light of day. A good
chance to make yourself a cuppa and order a takeaway.
7 p.m.-ish:
Right back to it as the SO24 debate gets underway. Expect Shadow Brexit
Secretary Keir Starmer to take center stage. All eyes now on the Tory rebels,
as SW1 tries to figure out if the numbers are there to defeat the government.
9.30 p.m.
to 10 p.m.: The big vote is expected any time around now. It's possible there
will in fact be two votes, if a "closure motion" is required to end
the debate. If so, the numbers on each should be exactly the same — you can
pretty much guarantee that if the rebels win the closure motion, they have
enough to win the substantive vote too. If they don't, the game is up and it's
all systems go for no deal.
10.30
p.m.-ish: The Commons empties (and Stranger's Bar fills up) as senior
government and opposition figures take to the airwaves to try to frame what
just happened. If the rebels win the day, expect a senior minister to
immediately put forward a motion on Wednesday's order paper for a vote on a
snap general election on October 14. Then we can all go home for a breather,
ahead of another seismic day to come. Phew.
What next?
Annabelle Dickson sets the scene ahead of a week of drama.
This
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