Boris Johnsonand his advisers are reportedly ready to tellthe Queenshe cannot sack him, even if he loses a no-confidence vote in the Commons later this month – a plan ridiculed by lawyers and historians.
It comes as the Court of Session in Scotland decides this morning whether a clerk or another government official can sign and send aBrexitextension letter on the prime minister’s behalf if he refuses to do so.
With talks in Brussels thought to be close to collapse, Mr Johnson spoke to his Irish counterpartLeo Varadkarover the phone on Tuesday night and the pair are expected to meet in person later this week.
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Could there be hope for a Brexit deal yet?
According toThe Times,EU negotiatorsare prepared to offer a concession: a mechanism for the Northern Ireland Assembly to agree leave a new Irish backstop after a certain number of years.
Diplomatic sources said Brussels might be willing to go along with the proposals to allow Stormont to pull out of the arrangements in the UK proposal – so long as there’s a “double majority” for it.
A double majority is a voting system which requires a majority of votes according to two separate criteria.
The EU is said to be concerned the British proposals would mean the DUP essentially has a veto, allowing the unionist party to pull out of any withdrawal agreement arrangements in 2025.
Brussels wants “parity of esteem” for both unionist and nationalist communities.
But both the DUP and Sinn Fein have dismissed the idea already. So perhaps no hope after all.
The BBC’s Norman Smith is correct – 19 October is shaping up to be a whopper , with a big showdown vote in parliament and the People’s Vote march for aFinal Saysecond referendum, supported byThe Independent.
More than 170 coaches have been hired to transport anti-Brexit campaigners to London for the protest – expected to be one of the biggest protests in British history.
Here’s our Europe editor Jon Stone with more on the latest remarks by European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker.
“I do not accept this ‘blame game’ of pinning the eventual failure of the negotiations on the EU, ”said Juncker. “If that’s the case, the explanation is actually in the British camp because the original sin is on the islands and not on the continent.”
In case you were wondering,Boris Johnsondid submit all the Jennifer Arcuri-related paperwork requested by the Greater London Authority on Tuesday evening.
But only after a 6pm deadline set by the committee investigating his ties with the tech entrepreneur had passed.
A Downing Street source said that a letter of request by oversight committee chair Len Duvall had been delivered late and that the deadline should therefore be pushed to Wednesday, but its response was still submitted shortly after the deadline.
Tony Blairgave a speech at a reform Scotland event in Edinburgh last night, again warning Labor and the opposition parties about the dangers of staging a general election in the midst of Brexit chaos.
“This is an elephant trap of width and depth with large neon signs around it, saying ‘Elephant Trap. Elephants of limited awareness please fall in. ’
“ I say to MPs: avoid it. Have an election by all means; but not to decide Brexit. If Brexit is the question ask it of the people specifically, not in a general election. ”
Irish finance ministerPaschal Donohoesaid his government is “more interested in trying to see if there’s a solution rather than engage in the allocation of blame”.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’sTodayprogram, he rejected claims that Dublin is seeking to “trap” the UK with Brexit backstop arrangements.
“In terms of the charge that the Irish government is looking to trap anybody in any kind of arrangement, that is absolutely not the case. ”
Our deputy editor Rob Merrick has the details on the dramatic Saturday sitting of parliament set to take place later this month – Boris Johnson’s last-gasp attempt to avoid having to ask the EU for a Brexit delay.
MPs will be recalled on 19 October, even if there is no agreement to vote on – and forced instead to choose between crashing out of the EU or extending the Article 50 process.
Tuesday’s cabinet meeting was said to be pretty unpleasant forBoris Johnson
Several ministers expressing their concerns about recent “No 10 source ”briefings – and a memo thought to have been written by Dominic Cummings that said the Tory party would have to an election manifesto pledge an “immediate” withdrawal from the EU at the next election if talks collapsed.
According toThe Times, Nicky Morgan, Julian Smith, Robert Buckland, Matt Hancock and Geoffrey Cox are all on a “resignation watch list”.
TheFin ancial Timesis reporting that up to 50 Tory MPs and three ministers could quit the party if the manifesto promised a no-deal Brexit.
According to the BBC’s political editorLaura Kuenssberg, the government will call an emergency sitting of parliament on Saturday, 19 October – the first Saturday sitting in the Commons since a debate over the Falklands War in 1982.
It appears the government could be set to force a showdown vote on a no-deal Brexit – or the extension demanded by the Benn Act.
The 19 October, remember, is the date that the prime minister must s end a letter to the EU asking for an extension (if he hasn’t achieved a deal, which is looking increasingly unlikely).
SpeakerJohn Bercowhas dismissed what he called attacks on parliament “low grade and vulgar to the extreme”.
In a wide-ranging interview with CNN about his time as Speaker, he said he was “entirely unmoved by some of the more downmarket attacks on Parliament that have been launched in recent times.
“They are unworthy, they don’t amount to a row of beans and I’m not intimidated by them,” he added.
He also said of Brexiteers who have claimed bias on his part: “If you are losing the match, it’s quite bad form to blame the referee.”
“I wouldn’t say I’m a Remainer enabler. I would say that I’m an enabler of all colleagues across the House who want to express their different points of view. have it both ways. ”
Later in the interview, he came close to tears as he reflected on murdered MP Jo Cox.
The Buckingham MP was shown a video clip of him paying tribute to Ms Cox in the Commons following her death in 2016. Fighting back tears, Bercow told CNN that he remembered the moment “very keenly” and “the sentiment is very raw”.
He said: “Really, Jo was a great exponent of that principle of political difference, personal amiability. It should be possible for us as democrats for us to disagree agreeably. ”
Boris Johnson (spoke to his Irish counterpart) ************************* (Leo Varadkar) over the phone on Tuesday night and the pair are set to meet in person later this week, according to Downing Street .
The British prime minister may be keen to be seen trying to “rescue” his Brexit deal, but there doesn’t appear to be anything left to rescue after the mood music turned extremely sour in the past 24 hours.
While European Council president Donald Tusk accused Johnson of launching a “stupid blame game”, European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker said that any blame for a no-deal Brexit would lie “in the British camp”.
Juncker warned: “A Brexit without an agreement would l ead to a collapse of the United Kingdom. “
More details here.
Leave.EUhas made a rare apology for a tweet the organization posted which showed a picture of Angela Merkel with the words: “We didn’t win two world wars to be pushed around by a Kraut. ”
Co-founder Arron Banks admitted it“ went too far ”.
The Queenmay need to prepare herself for more madness ahead. Boris Johnson and his advisers are reportedly ready to tell Her Majesty she cannot actually sack him even if he loses a no-confidence vote in the Commons later this month.
According to (The Sun) , the belief is based upon the “Lascelles Principles” that the monarch must follow the PM’s advice. Fans of Netflix’sThe Crownwill be well aware of the stern, moustachioed Tommy Lascelles – who drew up the principles back in 1950.
But lawyers and historians have already ridiculed the idea and claimed No 10 does not understand the principles, nor the constitution. Royal historian Professor Kate Williams said No 10 had “lost it”.
Leo Varadkarsaid negotiating a new Brexit agreement by the crucial EU summit will be “very difficult” in his latest interview.
“There are some fundamental objectives that haven’t changed for the past three years and we need them guaranteed, ”he told RTE news.
“ I think it is going to be very difficult to secure an agreement by next week, quite frankly.
Essentially what the United Kingdom has done is repudiate the deal that we negotiated in good faith with Prime Minister (Theresa) May’s government over two years and sort of put half of that now back on the table and are saying, ‘That’s a concession’. And of course it isn’t really. ”
Asked if the blame game language was turning“ toxic ”, Varadkar said:“ I think it is, from some quarters, but you know I don’t play dirty. ”
Boris Johnson also hosted European Parliament presidentDavid Sassoliin Downing Street on Tuesday evening, but the MEP left saying “no progress” had been made.
Sassoli later told the BBC’sNewsnightprogram: “Angela Merkel’s opinions must be taken seriously. We are all very worried because there are only a few days left. Because we understand that going out without an agreement leads to having a real problem, if not a real catastrophe. ”
He also claimed Johnson told him he did not want any extension to Article (**************************************************************************************************************************************************************.
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