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A cross-party group of members of Parliament is finalizing its plans to block a no-deal Brexit when Parliament returns on Tuesday. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s office has threatened revenge on any Tories who vote against his government, prompting defiance from senior party members, including former Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond and ex-Justice Secretary David Gauke, who say a no-deal split will be catastrophic for the U.K. economy.
Key Developments:
Former Justice Secretary David Gauke says there’s a 95% chance of no-deal Brexit if Parliament fails to actLabour leader Jeremy Corbyn warns time is running outMUST READ: Fate of Brexit Is Up in the Air as Johnson Delivers SurprisesPound falls by as much as 0.66%
Corbyn: ‘Last Chance’ to Stop No Deal Brexit (11:35 a.m.)
Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn warned that this week could be the last chance to prevent a no-deal break-up with the EU. Speaking in Salford, northwest England, Corbyn said he’s finalizing plans with other members of Parliament for how to stop Johnson pushing ahead.
“We must come together to stop no deal,” Corbyn said. “This week could be our last chance. We are working with other parties to do everything necessary to pull our country back from the brink.”
After stopping Johnson, Britain needs a general election, Corbyn said. In a rehearsal for that election campaign, he framed his argument in wider political terms, repeatedly portraying Johnson and his Tory party as friends of a wealthy elite who won’t pay the price of a no-deal split from the EU.
Rees-Mogg Accuses Doctor Of ‘Fear-mongering,’ (10:30 a.m.)
In a bad-tempered exchange on LBC radio Leader of the House of Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg was asked by a doctor involved in planning for a no-deal Brexit what level of patient mortality he would be happy to accept.
In reply Rees-Mogg accused the doctor of “fearmongering,” adding “I don’t think there is any reason to suppose a no-deal Brexit should lead to a mortality rate; this is the worst excess of Project Fear.”
No-Deal a 95% Chance if Parliament Fails, Gauke Says (Earlier)
Former Justice Secretary David Gauke said there’s a 95% chance of a No-Deal split with the EU on Oct. 31 if Parliament fails to pass legislation blocking it.
The former minister, who voted three times for Theresa May’s deal with the EU and favors leaving with an agreement, accused Boris Johnson of “goading people to vote against the government” as part of a strategy aimed at provoking a general election.
Gauke told the BBC that Johnson’s adviser Dominic Cummings, who isn’t a member of the Conservative Party, is behind the “unusual” and “confrontational” strategy. There has been no approach to rebels to persuade them to change their minds, just threats of being thrown out of the party and banned as election candidates, he said.
No-Deal Opponents Coalesce Around Short Extension (Earlier)
Opponents of a no-deal Brexit have coalesced around a short extension to Britain’s membership as this week’s goal, former Tory Lawmaker Nick Boles told BBC radio.
Rebel Tories and opposition MPs want to pass a law requiring Johnson to seek an extension — assuming he can’t get a revised deal or persuade Parliament to back a no-deal Brexit by Oct. 31, Boles said.
According to Boles, the extension wouldn’t be more than “a few more months.” That’s “not long enough crucially for a referendum, so this is not an attempt to somehow sneak a second referendum in,” he said.
Chuka Umunna, a Liberal Democrat who quit the Labour Party earlier this year, agreed that stopping a no-deal Brexit is this week’s goal, but his party sees it as a stepping stone to stopping Brexit altogether.
Long-Bailey Says Bill Designed for Broad Appeal (Earlier)
Rebecca Long-Bailey, Business spokeswoman for the opposition Labour Party, said a proposed bill aimed at blocking a no-deal split from the EU — which she said will be introduced on Tuesday — will be kept “as short and simple as possible” to give it broad appeal across the political spectrum in Parliament.
This week is the “last chance” to stop a “disastrous” no-deal divorce, she told BBC Radio.
Earlier:
Fate of Brexit Is Up in the Air as Johnson Delivers Surprises
Johnson Is Campaigning Again, But What Exactly Is He Selling?
–With assistance from Jessica Shankleman.
To contact the reporters on this story: Alex Morales in London at [email protected];Tim Ross in London at [email protected]
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at [email protected], Thomas Penny, Caroline Alexander
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