(Bloomberg) — U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson kicked off his Conservative Party’s annual conference under a slogan of “Get Brexit Done,” with signs everywhere that a general election is coming soon.
Key Developments:
Raab suggests law blocking no-deal might not applyGovernment accuses opponents of colluding with the European UnionJohnson to conduct Brexit negotiations by phone during conferenceGovernment pledges to build 40 new hospitals
Expelled Tory Gauke Criticizes ‘Collusion’ Narrative (9 a.m.)
Former Justice Secretary David Gauke, expelled from the Tories for voting in favor of the Benn Act (see 8.30 a.m.) rejected the idea he’d worked with EU officials to draft the bill, and said the allegation was another example of Johnson’s office using inflammatory language.
“You have a very good example of a Number 10 briefing using the word collusion — that’s a very loaded word itself — and providing no evidence that there was anything supporting this statement,” Gauke told Sky News.
That “feeds into this narrative that anyone who doesn’t agree with Number 10’s is somehow unpatriotic or betraying the country, or an enemy or walking the country to surrender.”
Hancock: ‘All Sides’ Must Moderate Language (8:45 a.m.)
Johnson’s team is facing persistent questions over his use of terms such as “surrender” and “capitulation” to describe the efforts of his opponents to prevent a no-deal Brexit.
Johnson’s critics say he is fueling abuse and escalating the risk of violence against MPs with his inflammatory words. The prime minister is refusing to back down, saying he won’t be bullied.
On Sunday, Health Secretary Matt Hancock defended the use of the term “surrender” to describe a new law intended to ban a no-deal Brexit. But in a veiled rebuke to Johnson, he said “it’s incumbent on all sides” to moderate their language.
“All of us get over-excited from time to time,” Hancock told Sky News. “My judgement is we absolutely should use language that tries to bring people together.”
Tories Gather to ‘Get Brexit Done’ (8:30 a.m.)
Under the banner ‘Get Brexit Done’ the Tories are meeting in Manchester, North West England, amid a fresh row over whether Johnson can get round a law instructing him to seek a delay to Brexit if he hasn’t reached a deal by Oct. 19.
In an interview with the Mail on Sunday Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab suggested that the government could use EU law to override the so-called Benn Act, passed earlier this month. Politicians who are seeking to stop Britain leaving the bloc without a deal have been accused of foreign collusion by using the French Embassy as a base for discussions.
In other developments on Sunday morning:
The government is committing to build 40 new hospitals, the kind of pledge that adds to the impression that it expects to fight an election soon.Alongside domestic policy announcements this week, Johnson will also be spending considerable time on the phone to European leaders during the conference and Brexit negotiations will accelerate, his office said.Johnson apologized to Queen Elizabeth II after the Supreme Court ruled that he shouldn’t have asked her to suspend Parliament, the Sunday Times reported.Despite publicly saying they would back Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn as an interim prime minister in a government of national unity, the Scottish National Party are in secret talks to find an alternative, according to the Sunday Times.Labour Treasury spokesman John McDonnell has written to the Cabinet Secretary Mark Sedwill calling for an investigation into whether Tory Party donors who backed Johnson have a financial interest in the U.K. leaving the EU without a deal.
Earlier:
U.K.’s New Brexit Deal Gambit May Emerge as Early as Next Week
Police Watchdog Asked to Investigate Johnson by London Official
EU Is Losing Faith in Johnson’s Ability to Bridge Brexit Gulf
Sturgeon Urges Parliament to Remove Boris Johnson: Brexit Update
To contact the reporters on this story: Kitty Donaldson in Manchester at [email protected];Robert Hutton in London at [email protected]
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Tim Ross at [email protected]
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