No-deal Brexit: Boris Johnson told he has ‘no divine right to rule’ by TUC boss

Frances O’Grady urges opposition MPs to ‘hold your nerve’ against PM’s ‘bullying tactics’

Union leaders have urged MPs to “hold your nerve” against Boris Johnson’s “bullying” tactics ahead of a fresh Commons showdown over the prime minister’s demands for a snap election.

Frances O’Grady, the TUC general secretary, warned Mr Johnson he did not have a “divine right to rule” and accused him of being prepared to “sell livelihoods down the river” in pursuit of political power.

The prime minister is poised to make a second bid for an early election but his authority suffered a fresh blow when Amber Rudd sensationally quit the cabinet and the party on Saturday night.

The former work and pensions secretary decided to resign after Mr Johnson sacked more than 20 senior Tories – including former chancellors Ken Clarke and Philip Hammond, and Winston Churchill’s grandson Sir Nicholas Soames – after they supported opposition moves to block a no-deal Brexit.

Speaking at the opening of the TUC conference in Brighton, Ms O’Grady said: “We know what kind of a man Boris Johnson is and the people he gets to do his dirty work.

“That he’s prepared to try every trick in the book, that he’s torn up the rules and is ready to defy the law. We don’t trust him.

“He would sell livelihoods down the river because all he cares about is political power.

“So my advice to MPs is this – when you’ve got your opponents on the ropes, don’t let them off. Hold your nerve until 31 October and call Boris Johnson’s bluff.”

A no-deal Brexit would be a “disaster for working people”, she said, pointing to workers in the NHS, at ports, the food industry and the civil service who will be on the front line of a chaotic departure.

Food, fuel and medicine shortages caused by no deal will hit working people hardest and wipe out jobs, Ms O’Grady added.

She said the government’s pursuit of an agreement with Brussels was “a sham”, as it would prefer a no-deal Brexit that would allow a “low-tax, low-regulation Britain that works for hedge-fund managers but offers nothing for working people”.

Her warnings came after it emerged the government was not prepared to comply with rebel legislation to thwart a no-deal Brexit next month, which is expected to receive royal assent on Monday.

Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, said the government would not break the law – but Mr Johnson could go to court to challenge the order to delay Brexit.

Asked about his comments, Ms O’Grady told The Independent that it was “desperate” that the prime minister was even contemplating defying the will of parliament.

She said: “I was always brought up to believe nobody is above the law and that includes the prime minister, it includes everybody.

“My advice would be to respect parliamentary democracy, respect the people that put you there. Nobody wants to see the economy and their jobs trashed.”