BRITAIN inched closer to a December election last night, with Boris Johnson caving into opposition demands to put his Brexit deal on hold until after a public vote. This was a key demand from the LibDems and SNP who, over the weekend, came forward with a plan to hold an early election on December 9 – with a vote set to take place today on holding the poll.
Downing Street’s U-turn was announced last night after the Prime Minister’s third attempt to force an early election was roundly rejected in the Commons.
READ MORE: Mhairi Black joins line-up for National's major #indyref2020 rally
With Labour abstaining there was never any chance of the two-thirds majority needed to unpick the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act.
Though the Tories won the vote by 299 to 70, they were 135 votes short of the 434 threshold required.
Johnson told the Commons: “We will not allow this paralysis to continue. One way or another we must proceed straight to an election.”
Like the bill proposed by the LibDems and the SNP, the legislation being brought forward today by the government only needs a simple majority of MPs.
READ MORE: Michael Fry: Harry and Meghan have it wrong on 'modernised' monarchy
Unlike Jo Swinson and Ian Blackford’s plan, the Prime Minister insisted the vote should be on December 12.
A No 10 source told the Press Association: “The bill is very similar to the LibDem/SNP bill. The Withdrawal Agreement Bill (WAB) will not be put back.
“This is the way to get Brexit done so the country can move on.”
That could be enough to get the support of the SNP and Labour.
In the Commons, Blackford said his MPs would support the Prime Minister’s new plan for a December 12 election if it came with a “cast-iron guarantee” he would not bring back the WAB.
Blackford added: “It is clear that there is a desire on the Opposition benches to bring forward a bill that can give us an election. But we don’t trust this Prime Minister and we don’t trust this Prime Minister for good reason.”
Corbyn said Labour would consider the Bill today, saying that he looked forward to “a clear, definitive decision that No Deal is absolutely off the table and there is no danger of this Prime Minister not sticking to his word, because he has some form on these matters”.
Earlier in the Commons, Corbyn had said the December 12 date was “less than a fortnight before Christmas, nine days before the shortest day of the year”.
He added: “The House must consider that in parts of this country it will be dark before 4pm. Many students will have just finished their term and gone home for Christmas ... and they risk being disenfranchised.”
In what was a heated, and at times bad-tempered, debate, the other parties all accused Labour of running scared of the voters.
Johnson said Corbyn had “run out of excuses” to not support a General Election. He added: “He can run, but he cannot hide forever. Across Parliament, his supposed allies are deserting him. The SNP, I now read, are in favour of an election, and the LibDems are in favour of an election.
“What an incredible state of affairs that there is one party tonight that is actually against a General Election. There is one party that does not trust the people of this country, and that is the principal party of opposition.”
Blackford called on Corbyn to work with the other opposition parties and take “the keys away for Downing Street from a Prime Minister we can’t trust”.
There was fury on the SNP benches when Johnson left the chamber shortly after Blackford started speaking.
MP Peter Grant wrote on Twitter: “This is deliberate. This is two fingers to Scotland.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel