Jeremy Corbyn has issued an urgent plea to MPs to unite to stop no-deal Brexit “before it’s too late”, amid cross-party demands for an immediate recall of parliament to deal with the crisis.
In a show of defiance, a group of more than 100 MPs representing every Westminster party except the DUP has signed a letter stating it is “unacceptable” for parliament to wait until next month to sit again, with the Brexit deadline looming.
Continue reading...Oliver Letwin becomes latest figure to reject call for unity government led by Labout leader
Splits in the anti-no deal alliance of MPs in parliament threatened to stymie plans to stop a no-deal Brexit on Friday, as Conservatives and independent MPs ruled out backing plans brokered by Jeremy Corbyn.
The row between the Liberal Democrats and Labour deepened as the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, urged the Lib Dem leader, Jo Swinson, to seriously reconsider Corbyn’s offer to head a temporary government to stop a no-deal Brexit. The Lib Dem’s former leader Vince Cable demanded Corbyn name a unity figure whom he would back if his plan failed.
Continue reading...Veteran backbenchers would garner more support as a temporary PM, says Swinson
The Liberal Democrat leader, Jo Swinson, has revealed the party’s proposals to stop a no-deal Brexit, including an emergency cross-party government, led by Kenneth Clarke or Harriet Harman, to replace that of Boris Johnson.
Speaking the day after Jeremy Corbyn urged opposition leaders to back a Labour plan to topple Johnson, via a no-confidence vote, and install him to lead a caretaker government before a Brexit-based general election, Swinson said she did not believe his plan was feasible.
Continue reading...Call for ‘dramatic intervention’ to thwart no-deal Brexit by passing withdrawal agreement
Labour MPs opposed to a second referendum are considering a “radical and dramatic intervention” to make clear to Jeremy Corbyn and Boris Johnson they are prepared to vote for a Brexit deal, with one estimating that dozens of colleagues are now ready to back the withdrawal agreement.
Stephen Kinnock, the Labour MP who coordinates around 30 MPs in a group called Respect the Result, said he believed that passing the withdrawal agreement was the most certain way of stopping the UK crashing out without a deal.
Continue reading...Speaker insists House of Commons cannot be ‘shut down’ and will be heard
The House of Commons Speaker, John Bercow, has said he will “fight with every breath in my body” to stop Boris Johnson from proroguing parliament to force through a no-deal Brexit without the consent of MPs.
Related: No-deal Brexit would be a betrayal, says Philip Hammond
Continue reading...How far from European policy will the US national security adviser try to pull the UK?
John Bolton, the national security adviser to Donald Trump and one of the pre-eminent advocates of “America first”, could not have been more solicitous to the Boris Johnson government – but his overtures may come with a sting in the tail for the UK.
The messages of solidarity poured out. We are with you, he vowed, saying Brexit was in the US national security interest, with or without a deal with the EU by 31 October. Laced with a few barbs at the expense of Brussels, he presented his credentials as a pioneer Brexiter, arguing he was a leaver before there were leavers.
Continue reading...Opponents of chaotic exit from EU still divided on strategy to outmanoeuvre Boris Johnson
Boris Johnson is preparing for a parliamentary battle against MPs trying to block a no-deal Brexit in the second week of September, as his cross-party opponents continue to be divided about the best way to stop the UK crashing out on 31 October.
A senior government source said Downing Street believed the first legislative showdown over no deal would be on 9 September, when parliament is due to debate a progress report on power-sharing in Northern Ireland.
Continue reading...Boris Johnson’s chief of staff tells advisers not to book holidays before 31 October
Boris Johnson’s chief of staff cancelled all leave for government advisers until 31 October in a missive on Thursday night, raising further speculation the government is planning for a forced snap election in the aftermath of the UK leaving the EU with no deal.
Special advisers were emailed by Johnson’s senior adviser Edward Lister on Thursday night, saying there was “some confusion about taking holiday”. They were told none should be booked until 31 October, with compensation considered “on a case by case basis” for those who had already booked leave, though the email said advisers were free to spend their weekends “as you wish”.
Continue reading...Labour leader calls on top civil servant to spell out election rules
Jeremy Corbyn has called on the UK’s most senior civil servant to intervene to stop Boris Johnson forcing a no-deal Brexit in the middle of an election campaign, amid rising signs the country is heading for the polls again this autumn.
The Labour leader wrote to Sir Mark Sedwill, the cabinet secretary, accusing the prime minister of plotting an “unprecedented, unconstitutional and anti-democratic abuse of power”, after it emerged No 10 would be prepared to delay an election until immediately after 31 October if Johnson loses a no confidence vote among MPs.
Continue reading...Alarm is mounting about Dominic Cummings and his willingness to defy parliament
Rebel MPs are working on a plan to thwart Boris Johnson pursuing a no-deal Brexit on 31 October that involves forcing parliament to sit through the autumn recess, amid growing outrage about the power and influence of his controversial aide, Dominic Cummings.
The cross-party group of MPs is looking at legislative options with mounting urgency because of the hardline tactics of Cummings, who one Conservative insider described as running a “reign of terror” in No 10 aimed at achieving Brexit on 31 October at any cost.
Continue reading...Ireland warns on relations as Boris Johnson’s government seems intent on no-deal departure
Michael Gove has accused the European Union of intransigence over Brexit talks, calling it “wrong and sad”, as divisions between the UK and Brussels became further entrenched with the government seemingly intent on a no-deal departure.
Gove, who is in charge of no-deal preparations, reiterated Boris Johnson’s position that the only route to progress would be the EU starting again with withdrawal negotiations, something Brussels has repeatedly and consistently ruled out.
Continue reading...No-deal Brexit is British PM’s ‘central scenario’, chief Brussels envoy reportedly says
Boris Johnson has no intention of renegotiating the withdrawal agreement and a no-deal Brexit is his “central scenario”, European diplomats have been told, amid hardening evidence in Westminster that the government is expecting to crash out of the EU.
Brussels diplomats briefed after a meeting between the prime minister’s chief envoy and senior EU figures in Brussels said that Britain’s refusal to compromise was understood to have been clear to those attending.
Continue reading...Jonathan Ashworth rebuts claim there is no time for an election to stop 31 October exit
Downing Street would be wrong to think it is too late for MPs to stop a no-deal Brexit, Labour has said.
The shadow health secretary, Jonathan Ashworth, said on Sunday he did not accept a claim, attributed to Dominic Cummings, Boris Johnson’s key adviser, that even if MPs were to pass a vote of no confidence in the prime minister in the autumn, the electoral timetable means any general election would not take place in time to stop the UK from leaving the EU on 31 October.
Continue reading...Disinformation committee wants CTF Partners chief to detail its propaganda activities
Sir Lynton Crosby could be called to give evidence to a House of Commons select committee on disinformation after the Guardian revealed how his lobbying company, CTF Partners, was involved in running a propaganda network on Facebook on behalf of foreign states and major corporate clients.
MPs told the Guardian they would seek to summon representatives of CTF to discuss their role in running a disinformation network that reached tens of millions of people. It comes as trade groups seek to distance themselves from CTF and its activities.
Continue reading...As the Brexit deadline looms, Europe remains wary of the poker player behind the clown mask
He is clever, cultivated, charming; witty, self-deprecating, wildly entertaining and oh so terribly British. Also dissembling, dishonest, dark, duplicitous, and a danger to his country and to Europe – a poker player whose bluff is about to be called.
As Boris Johnson settles into his new role, vowing, do or die, to take the UK out of the EU without a deal in 90 days unless the 27 nations ditch an accord that took two years to negotiate, European politicians and commentators are both fascinated and appalled.
Continue reading...Jane Dodds beats Tory incumbent Chris Davies, and says her first act will be to tell prime minister to rule out no-deal Brexit
Boris Johnson has suffered a major blow after the Tories were beaten by the Liberal Democrats in the Brecon and Radnorshire byelection.
The victory by Liberal Democrat candidate Jane Dodds means the new prime minister’s working majority in the House of Commons has been cut to just one and will be seized on as a sign voters are concerned by Borish Johnson’s pledge to leave the EU without a deal if necessary.
Continue reading...PM set out to prove his pledge to the ‘awesome foursome’ but not everything went to plan
Boris Johnson pledged his commitment to the “awesome foursome” of the UK when he was elected Conservative leader, and has since embarked on a whistlestop tour taking in the north of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. But how successful were the trips? Visits that involved keeping the prime minister away from booing protesters and, in some cases, journalists? Have they allayed fears that Johnson’s hardline Brexit strategy and the continuation of the union could be mutually exclusive?
Continue reading...German carmaker’s CEO offers to travel to London to deliver message to PM saying ‘listen to business’
The boss of BMW has urged Boris Johnson to respond to calls from business to find a compromise on Brexit – and offered to travel to the UK to deliver the message to the prime minister in person.
Speaking as the German carmaker reported falling profits due to its investment in electric vehicles, BMW chief executive Harald Krüger said it would be a “lose-lose” scenario if the UK leaves the EU without a deal.
Continue reading...I was born in 1931 in the small German town of Meiningen, famous for its theatre, much like Stratford-upon-Avon. Its mainly middle-class citizens were deeply disillusioned, tired of the infighting of the political parties. Germany seemed to be in a state of social and moral disintegration, crying out for healing and reconciliation. People were drawn to a charismatic, unconventional power-hungry leader who read their minds and promised what they wanted to hear. I know history never quite repeats itself, but the analogies are frightening.
The single issue was the exceptionalism (Opinion, 29 July), the superiority of the German race. The good, mainly churchgoing citizens easily voted his Brown Shirts onto the regional council (cpcf the Brexit party). Two years later they voted nationally in sufficient numbers to enable Hitler to seize total power. It was all perfectly legal, too late to effectively protest. Dissent was now treason (think the Daily Mail). My father’s parents were Jews. Outcasts now (think our non-Brits), a few years later we had no choice but to flee and my grandmother to take poison. I pray for our PM and hope that I am needlessly crying wolf.
Canon Dr Paul Oestreicher
Brighton
After rebuff from Irish taoiseach, PM ready to blame ‘friends across the Channel’
Boris Johnson has said it is up to the EU to compromise to avoid a no-deal Brexit, after his demands for the backstop to be scrapped were met with a flat refusal from the Irish taoiseach, Leo Varadkar.
In comments that showed he is preparing to blame the EU if the UK ends up leaving without a deal, Johnson said he was not aiming for a no-deal Brexit but the situation was “very much up to our friends and partners across the Channel”.
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