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The U.K. is set for its third general election since 2015 as political leaders attempt to resolve the Brexit crisis paralyzing the country.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson won the backing of opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn for a snap poll to take place between Dec. 9-12.
While the date is yet to be confirmed, the vote is set to become a proxy referendum on European Union membership. It is likely to be the last chance voters have to choose between parties offering to cancel Brexit or force through a hard split at any cost.
Members of Parliament will vote later on Tuesday to endorse the election plan.
Key Developments:
Johnson needs only simple majority in House of Commons after proposing a bill to set date of next election as Dec. 12Labour said it will back an early election in December, with date subject to any amendments to government legislationCabinet minister Jacob Rees-Mogg says government wants election bill to pass all House of Commons stages on Tuesday; debate to continue “until any hour”Read more: Boris Johnson’s Double Gamble on an Unpredictable U.K. ElectionPound erases earlier loss
Johnson Makes Case For Early Vote (2:35 p.m.)
Boris Johnson made his case for an early election in the House of Commons, saying the current crop of members wouldn’t vote through his Withdrawal Agreement Bill and accusing opposition MPs of not wanting to deliver Brexit.
“There is only one way to get Brexit done in the face of this unrelenting parliamentary obstructionism,” he told the chamber. “That is, Mr speaker, to refresh this Parliament and to give people a choice.”
MPs Vote to Allow Amendments to Election Bill (2:20 p.m.)
MPs backed the amendment by Labour backbencher Stella Creasy (see 2:10 p.m.) enabling them to add changes to Boris Johnson’s bill to force through a general election.
The government had sought to by bypass normal Parliamentary rules and limit the opportunity for rank-and-file lawmakers to change the proposed law.
It now opens up the bill to possible amendments, including from those who want to change the date of the election, or to add 16 and 17-year-olds and EU nationals to the electorate.
MPs Voting to Allow Election Bill Amendments (2:10 p.m.)
MPs are voting on an amendment to the government’s schedule for proceeding with the general election bill in the House of Commons.
In essence, the amendment, proposed by Labour backbencher Stella Creasy, would allow MPs to amend the legislation calling for an early general election. The government is trying to bypass normal Parliamentary rules to speed its passage through parliament.
Creasy said her amendment aims merely to put the concept of “fair play” back in the Commons. “What the government was trying to do, in simple terms, was rig today’s debate,” she told lawmakers. “Letting this program motion go through without the full list of rules, is like letting Lance Armstrong keep all his medals.”
Election Bill Presented to Parliament (1:45 p.m.)
The bill calling for an early general election has been presented in Parliament – what’s called its first reading. That’s just a formality. MPs have 6 hours to get it through all of its stages in the House of Commons.
That includes a vote on second reading – expected by about 6 p.m. and then debate on possible amendments at what’s called the committee stage of the bill. If it stays to schedule, the final vote should be no later than 7:45 p.m.
OBR Forecasts Still Due on Nov. 7 (12:45 p.m.)
The government’s fiscal watchdog said it will still publish its economic forecasts on Nov. 7, even though Chancellor of the Exchequer Sajid Javid’s Budget the day before has been canceled.
The forecasts, which were due to be presented in response to the Budget, will include updated assessments of the impact of the Brexit deal Boris Johnson agreed with the EU on Oct. 17. Javid has ruled out publishing any government impact assessments of the deal.
In a letter to the Treasury, Robert Chote, Chairman of the Office for Budget Responsibility, said it is required by law to publish at least two forecasts per year and will go ahead with its plans.
Chote said in his letter that the new deal is unlikely to have made a “significant quantitative difference” compared to the last forecast in March, which was based on Theresa May’s deal and assumed a transition period to Dec. 2020.
Johnson Will Consider Other Election Dates (12:30 p.m.)
Boris Johnson is open to considering other dates for a general election, but doesn’t consider a poll on Dec. 9 as logistically possible, his spokesman James Slack told reporters in Westminster.
That means Dec. 10 or 11 could emerge as the date for a pre-Christmas election, rather than the Dec. 12 vote proposed by the prime minister.
Slack also said that Johnson wouldn’t countenance the lowering of the voting age to 16, or the inclusion of EU nationals in the vote, both of which have been proposed by opposition parties. Even if he supported the changes, there would be practical issues with either happening in time for an election next month, Slack said.
Mixed Reaction to Election From Labour MPs (11:50 a.m.)
Not all Labour MPs seem happy about Jeremy Corbyn’s decision to back a general election.
Darren Jones, who represents a constituency in Bristol, tweeted a painting of the Charge of the Light Brigade – one of Britain’s best-known military disasters. Another, Ben Bradshaw said an election shouldn’t be a tool to resolve Brexit. “A general election is about everything about governing the country,” he told the BBC.
But others threw their support behind the plan. Laura Pidcock tweeted “BRING IT ON,” while Clive Lewis tweeted an abbreviated version of the same message: “bring it.”
‘It’s Time,’ Corbyn Says (11:30 a.m.)
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn tweeted that his party will back a general election, confirming earlier statements from his office (see 10:50 a.m.). “It’s time,” he said.
Pound Erases Loss With Election Likely (11:10 a.m.)
The pound reversed an earlier decline as traders judged a vote in Parliament on an early election vote was likely to pass with the Labour Party’s backing (see 10:50 a.m.). The currency gained as much as 0.1% to $1.2873 before paring gains.
Market participants judge a snap poll could bring back a Conservative majority and end the Brexit deadlock, according to Nomura International Plc analyst Jordan Rochester.
Corbyn Backs December Election (10:50 a.m.)
Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn indicated his party will back a general election in December, meaning Johnson will be able to go to the polls by the end of the year.
Corbyn told his team: “For the next three months, our condition of taking no deal off the table has now been met,” according to a statement. “We will now launch the most ambitious and radical campaign for real change our country has ever seen.”
The parties are haggling over the date of the election, with a day between Dec. 9 and Dec. 12 currently on the table. Amendments to Johnson’s bill are being written now.
Trust Is Key as SNP Deliberates Over Election (10:45 a.m.)
Scottish National Party MPs are scrutinizing the contents of the government’s election bill ahead of a debate later today, according to a spokesman.
The party wants an election, but its lawmakers don’t trust Boris Johnson to keep to his word, he said.
Government Offers Dec. 11 to Win Lib Dem Support (10 a.m.)
The negotiations have begun in Westminster ahead of the vote on Boris Johnson’s plan for a Dec. 12 general election. With the Liberal Democrats and Scottish National Party seeking a Dec. 9 poll, a U.K. official said the government has offered Dec. 11 as a compromise.
A spokesman for the Liberal Democrats said the party is looking at the offer.
The government needs some opposition votes to reach a simple majority for its election bill to pass, but it also wants to avoid amendments being attached to the legislation.
Students’ Vacation Key to Election Date Battle (9 a.m.)
The biggest sticking point in Boris Johnson’s bid for a Dec. 12 general election is the date itself. Two smaller opposition parties, the Liberal Democrats and the Scottish National Party, whose support could be key to the government’s chances, want an earlier poll on Dec. 9 to ensure students are still at their universities to cast their ballots.
Liberal Democrat MP Chuka Umunna told BBC radio on Tuesday his party would not accept Dec. 12. But Conservative minister Brandon Lewis said Dec. 12 is the “right date” and accused the opposition parties of seeking to stop Brexit altogether. The government has said it needs time before Parliament breaks up for an election to secure key Northern Ireland legislation.
Johnson lacks a majority in Parliament, so will need at least some opposition votes to secure an early election. But the Liberal Democrats and SNP, both staunchly pro-EU and anti-Brexit, regard students as a key constituency.
Meanwhile, even though the main opposition Labour Party abstained in Monday’s vote on a snap poll, their position appeared to be softening on Tuesday. Labour’s trade spokesman, Barry Gardiner, hinted his party could back a Dec. 9 election, telling BBC radio: “The first thing is to make sure that students are not disenfranchised by the date of the election.”
Hammond: Election Will Usher in Tory Hardliners (8:30 a.m.)
Former Conservative Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond, who is still suspended from the party after defying Boris Johnson over Brexit, warned an election would usher in “hardliner” pro-Leave MPs to the Tory benches.
“I fear that the real narrative here is that the Vote Leave activists, the cohort that has seized control in Downing Street — and to some extent in the headquarters of the Conservative Party — wants this general election to change the shape of the Conservative Party in Parliament,” Hammond told BBC radio.
Hammond also disputed the government’s narrative that he and other expelled Tories, and MPs in general, are the ones blocking Brexit. The House of Commons voted in favor of the initial passage of Johnson’s Brexit bill before the government pulled the legislation over its failure to win backing for an accelerated timetable, Hammond said.
Rees-Mogg: No Plan to Bring Brexit Bill Back (Earlier)
In his business statement to Parliament late Tuesday, Cabinet minister Jacob Rees-Mogg said the government wants to get the early election bill through all stages of the House of Commons on Tuesday.
He also said the government had no plan to bring back the Withdrawal Agreement Bill — the legislation that puts the Brexit deal into U.K. law — before Parliament breaks up for the election. That’s a key demand of the Liberal Democrats and Scottish National Party, who opened up the legislative route to an early election when they expressed willingness to vote for a snap poll, subject to Brexit not being concluded beforehand.
According to Tuesday’s House of Commons order paper, debate on the election bill is due to begin at 12:30 p.m. — subject to ministerial statements and urgent questions — and can continue “until any hour.”
Earlier:
Boris Johnson Won’t Give Up on Trying to Force a U.K. ElectionBrexit Bulletin: Fourth Time Lucky?Two Foreign Exchange Traders, Three Votes and a Brexit Meltdown
–With assistance from Caroline Alexander, Jessica Shankleman and Charlotte Ryan.
To contact the reporters on this story: Kitty Donaldson in London at [email protected];Tim Ross in London at [email protected];Alex Morales in London at [email protected]
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at [email protected], Stuart Biggs, Thomas Penny
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