Boris Johnson news - live: Bid for pre-Christmas election gathers support, as PM holds surprise Brexit meeting with Corbyn

Jeremy Corbyn slams Boris Johnson over proposed Brexit deal

Boris Johnson has been forced to “pause” his Brexit deal legislation after MPs rejected his plans to fast-track his withdrawal agreement bill through the Commons before his “do or die” 31 October deadline.

After surprise talks between Mr Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn on Wednesday, a Labour spokesperson said Mr Corbyn had “restated that Labour will support a general election when the threat of a no deal crash out is off the table.”

SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon said she would be “very happy” to have a pre-Christmas election. Justice secretary Robert Buckland said an election “seems to me to be the only way to break this impasse”, while his Labour shadow Richard Burgon, asked if the party would help trigger an election once the threat of a Halloween no deal was removed, replied: “Yes.”

Key Points

• Tusk tells Johnson he will recommend EU27 accepts extension request
• Justice secretary says election would 'resolve' impasse
• Labour to 'support election' when no deal off the table after PM and Corbyn hold suprise meeting
• SNP leader 'very happy' about idea of pre-Christmas election

[23 October 2019 13:07 · Adam Forrest]

Corbyn slams Boris Johnson over proposed Brexit deal

Here’s the moment the Labour leader criticised the PM’s now-paused withdrawal agreement bill:

[23 October 2019 13:12 · Adam Forrest]

Jo Swinson attacks Johnson-Corbyn meeting: ‘Six white men met to discuss pushing through Brexit deal’

The Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson attacked this morning’s meeting involving Boris Johnson, Jeremy Corbyn and their closest advisers, claiming: “Six white men met to discuss pushing through a Brexit deal which will wreck our country.”

Our political editor Andrew Woodcock has the details of the showdown at Westminster, at which it appears absolutely nothing was agreed.

[23 October 2019 13:17 · Adam Forrest]

Donald Tusk tells PM on phone he’s recommending extension

The president of the European Council Donald said he has told Boris Johnson over the phone that he’s recommending the EU27 accept the extension request made by the UK – are we heading for a three-month extension then?

[23 October 2019 13:34 · Adam Forrest]

Sturgeon ‘very happy’ about idea of pre-Christmas election

Nicola Sturgeon has declared she would be “very happy” for a general election to be held before Christmas as she hit out at Boris Johnson over his Withdrawal Agreement Bill.

Sturgeon, speaking in London, said: “I want to see a general election. I would be very happy to see that general election before Christmas but the circumstances of that have to be such that it doesn’t open the risk of a no-deal Brexit.”

That she said “seems to me to be the only route out of this mess for the UK”, adding: “I hope the European Union agree to a longer extension, at the very least an extension until the 31st of January next year.”

All the details here:

[23 October 2019 13:53 · Adam Forrest]

What is the Brexit ‘trapdoor’ – and why does it matter?

One of the biggest concerns MPs have about Boris Johnson’s deal is the risk of what would be, in effect, a no-deal crash-out at the end of December 2020.

Green MP Caroline Lucas and others have talked about the risk of “trapdoor” if the prime minister is not required to extend the transition agreement between the UK and EU.

Our political commentator John Rentoul has taken a look at why it matters.

[23 October 2019 14:03 · Adam Forrest]

Government could call vote of no confidence to bring itself down

As Robert Peston suggests, Jeremy Corbyn could back out of a pre-Christmas election by claiming the risk of a no deal remains on the table, even after the now-almost-inevitable extension is granted by the EU.

If Corbyn backs out of an election – or has his arm twisted by the bulk of backbenchers who don’t want one – Johnson does have one radical course of action to force the issue.

He could call a motion of no confidence in his own government and have Tory MPs vote to bring it down. If opposition parties failed to form an alternative government in 14 days, it would trigger an automatic early election.

Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith told The Times’ Steven Swinford it could soon be time to push for “a vote of confidence in ourselves”.

[23 October 2019 14:16 · Adam Forrest]

Varadkar says ‘bags are packed for Brussels’ if emergency summit required

Irish premier Leo Varadkar has been speaking about Brexit during Taoiseach’s Questions in the Irish Parliament – and said he is supportive of a request by the UK for an extension of the exit deadline.

Varadkar said: “There is no extension agreed, the European Union has not agreed an extension for the UK as yet.

“President Tusk is currently in the process of consulting the 27 heads of state and government.

“We spoke this morning. He is recommending that we accept an extension until 31 January that could be terminated early if the House of Commons and House of Lords ratifies an agreement.

“I agreed to that but that's not yet agreed by the 27 and we may have to have an emergency European Council over the course of the next few days to discuss it if he can’t get consensus.

“My bags are always packed for Brussels and packed they are again.”

[23 October 2019 14:26 · Adam Forrest]

Labour want ‘legally binding’ assurance on election date

According to BBC Newsnight’s Nicholas Watt, Labour leadership is only interested in agreeing to a general election once a Brexit extension is assured if they get a “legally binding” assurance from Boris Johnson about a precise election date.

[23 October 2019 14:39 · Adam Forrest]

Corbyn ‘running out of excuses’ on snap election

With a no-deal Brexit about to be taken off the table, and Boris Johnson attempting to engineer an election, Jeremy Corbyn is running out of excuses to avoid an early poll, says our political commentator Andrew Grice.

More here:

[23 October 2019 15:07 · Adam Forrest]

Vince Cable says Brexit could be raging ‘a hundred years from now’

Vince Cable thinks our present Brexit impasse a classic example of the “prisoners’ dilemma”.

In his latest piece for The Independent, he writes: “The leaders of two gangs – let’s call them the Brexiteers and the Remainers – are in prison in separate cells, charged with causing a serious punch-up.

“They know that if they shook hands and reached a compromise they would get away with a warning and please the neutrals. But they don’t trust the other side and don’t want to risk accusations of “betraying” their own.”

Cable adds: “A hundred years from now, I fear that arguments over Brexit will still be raging. Unless, somehow, the prisoners learn to compromise.”

Read his piece in full here: