BORIS Johnson’s bid for a snap general election on October 15 has failed after he suffered another heavy defeat in the House of Commons.
The vote was 298 to 56, a majority of 242 but this was 136 short of the two-thirds majority the Prime Minister needed under the Fixed Term Parliaments Act[FTPA]. Labour and the SNP abstained.
After the vote, Mr Johnson mocked Jeremy Corbyn, telling MPs: “He has become, to my knowledge, the first Leader of the Opposition in the democratic history of our country to refuse the invitation to an election.
"I can only speculate as to the reasons behind his hesitation. The obvious conclusion, I'm afraid, is that he does not think he will win.”
But in a hint he could seek a further vote to force an election, Mr Johnson issued a direct plea to Labour MPs, urging them to “reflect on the sustainability of his position overnight and in the course of the next few days".
READ MORE: Politics LIVE: Government is defeated again in motion on general election
Earlier, a Downing St spokesman made clear that “further options” would be brought forward, noting: “If the PM can’t get the bill through Parliament because it is determined to wreck the negotiations, the only other option then is a general election.”
Party sources suggested one option was for Mr Johnson to table a motion, saying, notwithstanding the FTPA, there should be a snap election. Unlike the legislation, this would require a simple majority to be passed.
Last night Mr Corbyn firmed up his view after suggesting the party would back a snap poll once the bill to push back Brexit Day from October 31 to January 31 – passed earlier in the day – received its Royal Assent. But he later tweeted:" When no-deal is off the table, once and for all, we should go back to the people in a public vote or a general election to decide our country's future."
Earlier, Ian Blackford, the SNP leader at Westminster, said his party was “clear; once we get the bill through to prevent a no-deal Brexit, MPs must force an election before Parliament is prorogued”. This is due to happen on Monday.
READ MORE: Confusion in the Commons as Kinnock amendment passes 'by mistake'
But Ian Murray, the Edinburgh South MP, warned the SNP it was "risking a no-deal Brexit by walking into a Boris trap".
He stressed a general election should not take place until the provisions of the extension bill had taken effect and the PM had been forced to ask Brussels for a Brexit delay.
“The SNP risk falling right into Boris Johnson’s trap if they back an election before October 31 and they risk a no-deal Brexit that would be disastrous for Scotland and the UK."
Jo Swinson, the Liberal Democrat leader, said: “We cannot let Boris Johnson use an election to tip the country into a dangerous no-deal Brexit…We will not support an election until Article 50 has been extended.”
MPs approved the extension bill by 327 votes to 299; a majority of 28. It then moved to the Lords.
However, peers were bracing themselves for a rare overnight sitting as they debated the so-called guillotine motion to curtail debate, to which more than 85 amendments had been submitted by mainly Brexit-backing Tory peers, including former Conservative leader Lord Howard.
Liberal Democrats peer Lord Strasburger tweeted: “This could run round the clock into the weekend."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel