(Bloomberg) — Leadership candidate Jeremy Hunt warned that rival Boris Johnson’s “gung-ho” approach risks triggering an election if members of Parliament block the government from pursuing a no-deal Brexit. There’s a crunch vote in the House of Commons Thursday in which politicians will try to make it harder for the next prime minister to suspend Parliament to get Brexit done; Justice Secretary David Gauke wouldn’t say which side he would support.
Key Developments:
Gauke says he will wait to see the amendments and whipping arrangements before deciding how to voteHouse of Lord beef up measures intended to hamper a no-deal Brexit — the House of Commons votes later ThursdayParliament’s Treasury Committee seeks updated analysis from the government, Bank of England on the economic impact of Brexit
Parliament Wants Updated BOE Brexit Analysis (9:50 a.m.)
As the Conservative leadership candidates argue over how to handle Brexit, the Treasury Committee has asked the Bank of England to update its economic analysis of various scenarios. The original analysis was published in late 2018, and was heavily criticized by pro-Brexit lawmakers. For a reminder of those scenarios, click here.
Treasury Committee Chair Nicky Morgan said she wants Parliament to be “as informed as possible as it considers key decisions about the future of our country.”
Hunt Warns Against ‘Gung-Ho’ Brexit Approach (8:30 a.m.)
Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt warned that rival Boris Johnson’s “head-strong, gung-ho” approach to Brexit risks triggering a general election before Oct. 31 if Parliament votes to take a no-deal divorce off the table.
Hunt, who said momentum is moving in his direction in the race to be Tory leader, accused the EU of not being “rational” in its approach to Brexit talks, and said they’ve treated it too much as a political issue.
Hunt, who conceded a no-deal split would have economic consequences, said that if he became prime minister, he would seek to persuade his Irish counterpart to rethink his support for the border backstop arrangement — the measure in the Brexit deal designed to keep the border open in the event the issue is not dealt with by a future trade deal.
“The backstop isn’t going to happen, it’s failed to get through Parliament three times, it’s never going to get through Parliament — do you want to find a solution or not,’’ Hunt said he would tell Leo Varadkar. “We need to find a different way to do it.’’
Barnier: U.K. Would Face No-Deal ‘Consequences’ (8:10 a.m.)
Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, said the U.K. would “have to face the consequences’’ of a no-deal split from the bloc, and said member states have “never been impressed’’ with British threats to leave without an agreement.
In an interview for a BBC TV documentary to be broadcast on Thursday, Barnier said the bloc is ready to discuss alternative arrangements for the Irish border — as set out in the agreement struck by Theresa May — but needs “time, we need certainty, we also need rationality’’ in the discussions. “We cannot play a game.” Technical solutions are not yet ready to deal with, for example, the issue of live animals crossing the border, he said.
He was also scathing about British politicians who talk about leaving the EU as being like quitting a golf club. “The EU is not a club, the EU is a political, economic, legal construction for 60 years,’’ he said. “Leaving the EU means so many consequences, human, social, legal, technical, financial, economic — nobody should underestimate the consequences.’’
Gauke Won’t Say If He’ll Back Brexit Amendment (7:15 a.m.)
Justice Secretary David Gauke said he doesn’t yet know how he will vote on an amendment intended to prevent a future prime minister from suspending Parliament to force through a no-deal Brexit.
“I’ll have to see what the precise amendments are, and we’re hearing what the whipping will be and the arguments on that, so I’m not in position to necessarily say,” Gauke, who is expected to lose his job after the new prime minister is announced next week, told BBC Radio 4. “At a crucial point in this country’s history that Parliament should not be able to sit, should not be able to express its opinion and its will, would be outrageous.”
Gauke has said he would resign if a future prime minister — expected to be Boris Johnson — insisted on a no-deal divorce from the EU. Johnson has refused to rule out suspending Parliament to force through such a split, which is not backed by a majority of MPs.
Gauke and Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond are shaping up to be influential and disruptive backbench rebels once there is a change of leader. There has been speculation some ministers may quit to vote against the government, and Gauke’s comments will add fuel to the theory.
Earlier:
Boris Johnson Says U.S.-U.K. Trade Deal Won’t Be Forged QuicklyPound Jolted Out of Summer Slumber as No-Deal Brexit Din GrowsBrexit Bulletin: Neutralizing the Next PM
To contact the reporters on this story: Thomas Penny in London at [email protected];Fergal O’Brien in Zurich at [email protected]
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at [email protected], ;Emma Ross-Thomas at [email protected], Stuart Biggs
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