UK MPs reject snap election after approving bill to block ‘no-deal’ Brexit

04 September 2019

Negotiations will now be going on behind the scenes at Westminster, former MP George Galloway tells RT, and "it may be that the general election, while delayed, will not be entirely delayed for long.”

"Once the 31st of October is passed, Labour has no excuse at all for refusing a general election, so it may be that a deal will be reached for an election on the first available Thursday in November,” he said, adding that November is a "very bad month to have a general election."

"The weather is poor, the nights are dark and it's only in extreme cases of parliamentary emergency that Britain traditionally goes to the polls in November, December, January, even February."

Neil Clark: “There are those who will way say Labour’s move is a shrewd strategy. But having called repeatedly for an election for the last two years it doesn’t look good that when they finally get the chance of one they turn it down.”

Labour’s decision to prioritize stopping a ‘no-deal’ over trying to get into power as soon as possible “will cost them dearly when an election does come,” Clark says.

“We’re in a state of total paralysis caused by MPs not accepting the result of the 2016 referendum and doing everything they can to kick Brexit into the long grass.”

Johnson says that by failing to back a snap vote, Corbyn is now "the first leader of the opposition in the democratic history of our country to refuse the invitation of an election."

He speculates that the reason is because he "does not think he can win."

Another loss for Johnson as the motion for a snap election fails with 298 votes for and 56 votes against.

Johnson needed 434 votes to pass the motion.

MPs are now voting on PM Johnson's motion to hold an early general election.

Johnson needs a two-thirds majority (434 votes) for parliament to back the plan. That is unlikely to happen, as Labour has said it will not back an election until the bill to block 'no-deal' and delay Brexit becomes law.

Neil Clark: John Baron MP makes a key point that "in no negotiation would you tell the other party you’d never walk out if the terms weren’t acceptable."

Brexit has made Britain the "laughing stock of the world," says Labour MP Thelma Walker.

"Our country deserves far better," she adds.

Walker says she wants an election but on "the opposition's terms."

There was some confusion in the chamber earlier as one of the amendment's to Benn's bill blocking 'no-deal' appeared to pass "by mistake" because there was no teller there to count votes against it.

The amendment, added by Labour MP Stephen Kinnock, aimed to extend the Brexit delay so MPs could pass a version of former PM Theresa May's withdrawal agreement if a new deal was not negotiated.

Green Party MP Caroline Lucas has berated the Tory front-benchers for referring to problems that would be caused by a ‘no-deal’ Brexit as “bumps in the road.”

They are only bumps in the road for those who have the “luxury of being insulated from the impact,” she said.

Yesterday, Lucas slammed hardline Brexiter Jacob Rees-Mogg for “contemptuous” body language as he slouched in his seat during parliamentary debates.

There is “no doubt” that the UK will have a general election at some point this autumn, Alan Sked, professor emeritus at the London School of Economics told RT.

It is not yet clear when that will happen, but when it does, it will be “one of the most bitterly contested election in the UK’s modern history.”

Change UK leader MP Anna Soubry says Benn's bill is only about stopping 'no-deal' and not about stopping Brexit altogether.

Parliament is "no longer serving the people" and MPs are "doing everything they can to frustrate this process to cut Boris’s legs from with under him and bring us back to the situation where Brexit does not happen," Brexit Party MEP for Scotland Louis Stedman-Bryce told RT.

"It is not about a no-deal Brexit, it is about stopping Brexit altogether and overturning the democratic vote that we had in 2016," he said.

Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson says she does not believe there is any majority among the public for any specific kind of Brexit deal and maybe no majority even in the Conservative Party.

A general election should happen in a "calm and orderly" manner without the threat of a 'no-deal' Brexit.

A male MP was overheard shouting "sit down, darling," while Swinson was speaking.

Tories are accusing Labour MPs of trying to deprive the British public of a say in how Brexit negotiations go forward by refusing to back a general election.

Blackford says the SNP "relishes" a general election, calling Johnson's government "shambolic" and accusing the PM of showing "contempt for democracy."

It should be Scotland's right, he says, to "decide its own future."

Ian Blackford MP says it is the SNP's "top priority" to avoid a 'no-deal' Brexit. “No one voted for a ‘no-deal’ Brexit. It wasn’t on the ballot paper,” Blackford says, scolding Johnson for not paying attention to MPs speaking in the chamber.

He also advised the PM to “sack your adviser Dominic Cummings."

“We stand ready to bring down the Tory government,” he says.

Neil Clark: The prospects for Brexit happening now look "quite bleak" without a general election. "Ruling out 'no-deal' effectively means ruling out Brexit as there’s no incentive for the EU to offer a better deal."

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has taken the floor now. He is scolding Johnson for not making his Brexit plans and proposals clear, saying they are "cloaked in mystery."

Corbyn says former PM Theresa May "at least made detailed speeches" setting out her Brexit policy, unlike Johnson.

The Labour leader warns that Johnson would get the UK into a trade deal with the US which would put "America first and Britain a distant second."

Corbyn says Labour will back an election only after a 'no-deal' is avoided.

PM Johnson says there is “only one way forward” and “there must now be an election on Tuesday 15 of October” so that the people can decide who will represent them in negotiations with the EU.

Benn has called on Johnson to “uphold the law” and fulfil the obligations of the bill.

Johnson, back in the chamber now, said the bill “effectively ends” negotiations with the EU and “hands control” to Brussels.

MPs have voted in favor of Benn's bill to stop 'no-deal' at the third reading by 327 to 299.

MPs are now voting on a third reading of the Benn bill to stop a 'no-deal' Brexit.

There was considerable confusion in the chamber during votes on amendments to the bill, but it looks like that portion of proceedings has now concluded.

The bill will move to the House of Lords if the vote passes, which is expected.

MPs have voted to defeat amendment 19 by 495 to 65.

Following the rest of the votes on the amendments, there will be a vote on the third reading of the bill.

The outcome is likely to be the same as the vote on the second reading earlier today, which was 329-300. The bill will then go to the House of Lords.

MPs have begun voting on amendments to Benn's bill aimed at blocking a 'no-deal' Brexit.

They vote first on amendement 19, which would remove the requirement for parliament to approve a 'no-deal' and require Johnson to seek an extension for any deal agreed with the EU.

Brexit secretary Stephen Barclay has said Benn's bill against a 'no-deal' Brexit it "so flawed" that the government has not even proposed amendments to it.

Barclay says Johnson has been "crystal clear" that he does not seek a 'no-deal' and, like the EU, he does want a deal.

"This is a bill about delay" and "legislative purgatory," he said of the anti-no-deal Brexit bill, urging MPs to oppose it.

Reports suggest Johnson has told the Conservative 1922 Committee that there must be a new election and that the UK will leave the EU on October 31.

Johnson has apparently proposed his idea for an alternative to the backstop, which involves an all-Ireland agri-food zone.

The PM came under "sustained attack" from withdrawing the whip from 21 Tory rebels yesterday, Financial Times correspondent Sebastian Payne reported.

Unionist MP Lady Sylvia Hermon recalls that Brexiters promised to take back control of the UK's borders and asks how the government plans to “take back control” of south Armagh (a border county in Northern Ireland).

Tory MP John Redwood assures Hermon that the government is "very sensitive" about the border and that it doesn't "wish to impose new barriers...in a way that could be an obstacle to good relations and the peace process."

Tory MP Andrew Percy says ‘Remainers’ have implied that anyone in favor of 'Brexit is just a "stupid, thick, racist northerner."

Neil Clark: Percy gave "one of the best speeches of the day." He is "quite right to say that people are sick to death of how MPs are trying to kick Brexit into the long grass and thwart the referendum result."

Tory MP Christopher Chope says the EU "has never accepted Brexit...the EU is just hoping and praying that Brexit will go away and that [the UK] will remain in the European Union."

"They don't want a divorce...so they offer unreasonable terms," he says, comparing the Brexit debacle to “modern international slavery” in which Britain is trapped within the EU with “no way” out and relegated to "the status of a colony."

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has said he is not worried about Johnson's fate as PM because he "knows how to win."

"Don’t worry about him," Trump assured.

Boris Johnson is meeting MPs at the Conservative 1922 Committee. The Sun's political editor Tom Newton Dunn has reported that Tory backbenchers cheered MPs Edward Leigh and Damian Green for speaking up for the 21 party rebels who voted for the Benn bill to avert a 'no-deal' Brexit.

Caroline Spelman MP has joined the group of Tory rebels attempting to thwart a 'no-deal'.

Tory MP Richard Graham has added an amendment which would mean that there is debate on the existing withdrawal agreement (or any new agreement) after the European Council meeting on October 17-18.

Graham says his amendment would give MPs "one last chance to vote for a deal" if they decide against a 'no-deal'.

MPs have voted 329 to 300 in favor of giving the Benn bill a second reading.

This is a slightly increased majority for the bill which would prevent a 'no-deal' Brexit, meaning it is an even bigger defeat for Johnson's government.

Earlier in the day...

MPs are voting on a second reading of the bill tabled by Labour's Hilary Benn to prevent a 'no-deal' Brexit.

Result expected in about 15 minutes.

Next they will spend two hours or so debating amendments to the bill.

Brexit secretary Stephen Barclay says the Benn bill would undermine the government's negotiating position with Brussels and says progress is being made.

Barclay says the bill is “intended to stop Brexit” altogether.

Sir Nicholas Soames MP (another of those expelled in Johnson's purge), says he believes the Brexit referendum result "must be honored" but slammed Johnson's threats to "commit an act of self harm" in the form of a 'no-deal' Brexit.

Soames says he is "truly very sad" that his nearly 37 years' of service in the house is coming to end in such a way. Hopefully the house will "rediscover the spirit of compromise, humility and understanding," he said.

Antoinette Sandbach MP, one of the expelled Tory rebels, says 'no-deal' will not be the end of Brexit. She says she was happy to put her own job on the line to save the jobs of her constituents by voting for the Benn bill.

She slams the "inability of successive governments" to work across the aisle to "seek common ground." Lack of such leadership from the front benches has been her "biggest shame" in being a member of parliament, she says.

Neil Clark: Sandbach is incorrect to say the threat of 'no-deal' won't help negotiations. "You’ll never get an improved deal from the EU unless there’s a threat to just walk away," Clark said.

SNP MP Stephen Gethins says 'no-deal' Brexit must be stopped "at all costs” and calls Johnson the "least trustworthy resident of No. 10 Downing Street that anyone can remember.”

Starmer confirms Labour will not back a snap election until the provisions in Benn's bill are implemented. He says it was "beneath contempt" for Johnson to refer to it as the "surrender bill."

Neil Clark: Hammond claims Benn's bill won’t undermine Johnson in his dealings with the EU, but ‘no-deal’ would “massively undermine the PM in his negotiations” because “there would be no incentive for the EU to offer a better deal.”

Labor MP Keir Starmer says the open border is the “manifestation of peace” in Northern Ireland.

Independent unionist MP Lady Sylvia Hermon says it is "very strange" that Johnson "hasn't found time" to go to Dublin and meet with Irish PM Leo Varadkar.

Keir says this confirms that Johnson does not have alternative proposals to the backstop to offer.

MP Philip Hammond says that by demanding the complete removal of the Irish backstop, Johnson has made it “impossible” for the EU to negotiate. Hammond is one of 21 rebel Tories expelled from the Conservative Party by Johnson on Tuesday.

Hammond denies that Benn’s bill is a play to hand power to the opposition. 

“I would sooner boil my head than hand power to the leader of the opposition [Jeremy Corbyn],” Hammond added.

Neil Clark: "Burt brings up World War II and seems to credit the EU for keeping peace in Europe. Well, it's obviously very good that we haven't had WW3, but Burt seems to have missed the bombing of Yugoslavia and the conflict in Ukraine."

Tory rebel MP Alistair Burt brings up the impact of Brexit on Ireland, says the country is “being treated as irrelevant” and like “some place that has made up the border issue” to prevent Britain from leaving the EU.

“Our Brexit has put [Ireland] in the most catastrophic situation...and we now expect them to accept another English demand,” he said, referring to the contentious backstop.

Benn claims the bill gives Johnson "the flexibility that he wants and needs to get a deal" and that further negotiation is not "pointless," as the PM has claimed.

A number of Tory MPs are arguing that Benn’s bill does not actually stop a ‘no-deal’ but simply “postpones” it. Benn says if you have the choice between jumping off a cliff now or waiting three months, it's better to wait.

Neil Clark: "How ironic that the son of the UK’s most famous left-wing Euro-sceptic, who campaigned for Britain to leave the EEC in the 1975 referendum, is playing such a key role in the campaign to delay or block Britain’s exit from the EU today."

Benn is giving his "usual 'Project Fear' speech" and "ignoring the fact that in order to get a better deal from the EU, it's ludicrous to take a 'no-deal' off the table. He's a Benn, but not a Bennite, alas," veteran political journalist Neil Clark told RT.

The open border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland could become “unsustainable” in the event of a ‘no-deal’ Brexit, Benn says.

Benn says there “may well be” a general election, but the bill preventing ‘no-deal’ Brexit must be passed first. A general election, he said, could result in the UK leaving the EU without a deal.

Lawmakers, including an alliance of rebel Tory MPs, voted Tuesday to debate the motion taking ‘no deal’ off the table in a historic defeat for Johnson, who declared he would call a snap general election if the bill passes.

MPs are expected to vote on a second reading of the bill at around 4pm GMT, before spending two hours debating amendments. At 6pm GMT, MPs will vote on the amendments and a third reading of the bill.

Lawmakers will then have a 90-minute window to debate Johnson’s motion declaring that “there shall be an early election.”

Johnson, however, is not expected to win the two-thirds majority needed for a snap election under the Fixed-term Parliaments Act. Labour has said it is in favor of calling for a general election, but only once Benn's bill becomes law.