THE UK Government will introduce a Bill in Parliament “almost identical” to that of the SNP and LibDems calling for a December election – if a Commons vote on an election fails today.
Johnson is to ask MPs today to back his call for a General Election on December 12, but it is unlikely to be passed as Labour, the LibDems and the SNP will vote against the move.
Instead, both the SNP and LibDems plan to push for an election now that a Brexit extension has been secured, including bringing forward a bill with a December 9 date for going to the polls, or a no-confidence motion if that fails.
Downing Street has now confirmed that it will "introduce a Bill almost identical to the Lib Dem/SNP Bill" tomorrow to push for a December election if the vote on an election fails today.
It is unclear as of yet whether the Government will target December 9 or an alternative date for the poll.
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The EU this morning announced that it has agreed to delay Brexit until January 2020, unless Johnson’s deal clears Parliament.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has argued that the SNP push for an election on December 9 would put Boris Johnson in a weak position given his “do or die” promise that the UK would be leaving the EU on October 31.
A Downing Street source said: "Tonight is Labour's last chance to have an election with Brexit done – they can vote tonight for the 12th and get Brexit done before Parliament is dissolved.
"If not, we will introduce a Bill almost identical to the SNP Bill tomorrow and we will have a pre-Christmas election anyway."
LibDem sources said they would need to see any Bill brought forward by the Government before deciding whether to support it.
One source said that it had to contain protection against a no-deal break, with the date of the election stipulated in the legislation.
"It is about making sure that Boris Johnson in some cunning fashion cannot engineer a situation where we crash out of the EU without a deal," the source said.
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