Brexit delay latest: Limbo as Jacob Rees-Mogg tells MPs there's no plans for Bill debate
Boris Johnson’s EU withdrawal Bill went into extended limbo today as Jacob Rees-Mogg told MPs there are no plans for any Brexit debates next week.
The Prime Minister announced a two-day “pause” in his Bill on Tuesday night after MPs backed it in principle but refused to pass a curtailed timetable for debates on the detail.
Although ministers said the Commons would sit at “weekends and nights” to rush through the Bill, there are now no more sittings until Monday, meaning at least a week’s pause.
Labour Whips, a twitter feed for Opposition chief whip Nick Brown’s team, said: “Jacob Rees-Mogg effectively confirms that the Government are split over whether to continue scrutiny of the deal and Withdrawal Bill. Not scheduled for next week.”
Downing Street denied a split in Government over whether to try to force a general election before the Bill is passed. Sources at No 10 blamed the delay — revealed when Mr Rees-Mogg unveiled Government plans for the week ahead in the Commons — on the divisions in Parliament.
“We do not have clarity from the EU on what kind of extension [Brexit delay] we will be offered because Parliament handed control to the EU,” said a source.
“We are in a holding pattern until we hear back from Brussels,” said the No10 source. The EU is expected to announce its decision tomorrow. Among debates announced for next week are those on Grenfell, the Animal Welfare Bill and tributes to the outgoing Speaker’s Chaplain.
Meanwhile, Rebecca Long-Bailey six times ducked saying if Labour will back an “immediate” general election today amid a major split in the party over whether to keep Boris Johnson waiting until next year for a poll.
The shadow business secretary refused to give a clear answer during a round of media interviews when she was repeatedly asked how Jeremy Corbyn will respond if challenged to agree to an election in coming days.
A string of Labour MPs and some frontbenchers have told the Standard that Mr Corbyn will be hit by a revolt if he agrees to an election before Christmas with the Brexit deal still unresolved.
One senior London MP said unpublished polling suggested Labour seats with strong Remain support would be endangered and target seats slip out of reach. The MP said there would be “irreparable damage” in the capital.
On Sky News, Ms Long-Bailey conceded that “a number of MPs are worried about what will happen” in a general election.
Mr Johnson is waiting for the EU to decide on how long a Brexit delay will be given to Britain before he decides on an election, which would require two-thirds backing in the Commons under the Fixed Term Parliament Act. Mr Corbyn said in September he would agree to a contest immediately if a long Brexit extension to January 31 was given.
But when BBC Radio 4’s Today programme tried to pin down Ms Long-Bailey, she repeatedly sidestepped a clear answer, at one point saying it was “within the Prime Minister’s prerogative really”. She also pointed out that Mr Corbyn had now offered “a reasonable time frame” in which to scrutinise the Withdrawal Bill. Asked a sixth time, she said: “If he goes straight to calling for a general election, of course we will support a general election.”
Tory chairman James Cleverly said: “The Labour Party are running scared and I can completely understand why. Their Brexit message is confused at best.”
No 10 is also divided over election timing. Dominic Cummings, Mr Johnson’s chief adviser, is said to be pressing for an immediate contest, while Northern Ireland Secretary Julian Smith reportedly wants to pass the Bill first. Labour MPs are highlighting a string of key battlegrounds where an immediate election would cause concern.
Hornsey & Wood Green and Hampstead & Kilburn are Labour-held seats seen as vulnerable following the revival of the Liberal Democrats, whose success is credited to a strong anti-Brexit message. Battersea could be lost to the Conservatives and Putney, a target seat, be put out of reach.
A shadow cabinet minister told the Standard the party should make Mr Johnson wait at least until after his October 31 deadline had been missed.
“That way everyone will see he has failed,” said the frontbencher. “His support will fall with each week he is left dangling there.”
