Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal could be derailed by last-ditch Remainer plot to force extension on Super Saturday
BORIS Johnson’s hopes of getting his Brexit deal signed off by MPs tomorrow face being derailed by a last-ditch Remainer plot to force through an extension.
An amendment to Saturday's crunch vote Brexit deal vote put forward by Sir Oliver Letwin would force the PM to ask the EU for a three-month Brexit delay by 11pm on Saturday.
It would withhold approval of the PM’s deal until Parliament has passed the necessary law to enact the agreement. And crucially that would trigger the Benn Act, which requires the PM to write a letter to the EU seeking a three-month extension.
Jeremy Corbyn threw Labour's support behind the amendment, making it much more likely to pass. And it is backed by all other opposition parties. The Benn Act is only made redundant if the PM wins tomorrow's so-called Meaningful Vote unamended.
It would effectively kick the can down the road on Brexit until the necessary legislation has been passed through Parliament, which would be the week after next at the earliest. And it would effectively make the highly-anticipated Commons showdown meaningless.
The move has a broad coalition of support from opposition parties and crucially by several of the sacked Tory rebels such as Philip Hammond and David Gauke. The move is designed to give an insurance policy to MPs who still fear a No Deal Brexit could happen on October 31.
Sir Oliver Letwin and other ex-Tory rebels fear hardline Brexiteer MPs will vote for the deal but then withdraw their support when the legislation is brought to the Commons next week.
If the deal passes tomorrow but the Government fails to pass the legislation by October 31 then Britain will leave the EU without a deal on Halloween. But the amendment has the benefit of also attracting support from MPs who want to reverse Brexit.
It would give Labour and other Remainer parties the chance to force through a second referendum as early as next week by attaching an amendment to the Brexit deal legislation.
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Ex-Tory MP Stephen Hammond said the amendment was “quite specific” and designed to be non-contentious.
He said: "What it says is that Brexit doesn't happen until all stages of the implementation bill are passed.
"What it is born out of is the concern that someone might choose to vote for tomorrow's deal, thereby satisfying the Benn Act, and then choose to do something either by accident or by design which frustrates the implementation bill and then there is a possibility of us leaving the European Union without a deal."
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