CALL MY BLUFF
Boris warns Remainers he will ignore any no confidence vote and call an ELECTION if they try to derail No Deal Brexit
BORIS Johnson has warned the Remainer alliance he plans to ignore any no confidence vote and call an ELECTION if they try and derail No Deal Brexit.
The PM left Jeremy Corbyn and his anti-Brexit brigade furious today when he dropped a bombshell by asking the Queen to suspend Parliament.
4
Boris made the move to stop MPs sitting for around five weeks over conference season - giving rebels less time to launch new plots to stop us leaving on October 31.
Corbyn is now under pressure to table a no confidence vote by next week – which could lead to the PM being ousted from Downing Street.
BORIS TO CALL ELECTION
However, No10 said that if a no confidence is tabled Boris will simply hold an election after Brexit day.
It's the PM's power to decide when an election can take place.
They said: "If MPs pass a no confidence vote next week then we won’t resign.
"We won’t recommend another government, we’ll dissolve parliament, call an election between November 1-5 and there’ll be zero chance of Grieve legislation."
The “Grieve legislation” refers to the plan by the former Attorney General to force a Commons vote on an amendment to legislation on Northern Ireland.
This is designed to stop a future PM ‘proroguing’ the House.
If MPs pass a no confidence vote next week then we won’t resign. We won’t recommend another government, we’ll dissolve parliament, call an election between November 1-5.
No10 official
The Queen this afternoon agreed to suspend Parliament.
It would have been completely unprecedented for Her Majesty to ignore the wishes of a sitting PM and refuse to grant his request.
Boris said today: "We are not going to wait for October 31 before getting on with our plans to take the country forward.
"That's why we are going to have a Queen's speech and we are going to do it on October 14."
"We are going to get on with it."
PM'S WARNING TO REBELS
Rebel MPs had discussed plans yesterday to try and scrap the conference recess altogether to give them as much time to wreck Brexit as possible.
Boris also today delivered a threat to Remainers - that if they try and derail his Brexit negotiations it will be their fault if we leave without a deal.
He wrote: "These weeks leading up to the European Council on 17/18 October are vitally important for the sake of my negotiations with the EU.
"Member states are watching what Parliament does with great interest, and it is only by showing unity and resolve that we stand a chance of securing a new deal that can be passed by Parliament."
Remainers have reacted with fury at the news today with Corbyn saying he was "appalled at the recklessness of Johnson's government" and called it a "threat to our democracy".
He later told Sky News that Boris was "riding roughshod over Parliament" and added: "he [the PM] wants to run headlong into the arms of Donald trump with more determination that anyone I've seen before."
REMAINER FURY
When asked what he would do to stop the PM, he said: "The first thing we'll do is attempt legislation to prevent what he trying to do and challenge him with a motion of confidence at some point."
Pro-EU Speaker John Bercow, who once proudly displayed a "b***ks to Brexit" car sticker despite claiming to be impartial, said it was "blindingly obvious that the purpose of prorogation now would be to stop Parliament debating Brexit and performing its duty."
And he added: "Shutting down Parliament would be an offence under the democratic process and the rights of Parliamentarians as the people's elected representatives."
Ex-Chancellor Philip Hammond, who has been repeatedly slammed for refusing to prepare properly for a No Deal Brexit, said today it would be a "constitutional outrage if Parliament were prevented from holding the Government to account at a time of national crisis".
He added: "Profoundly undemocratic."
What is a no confidence vote and how does it work?
BORIS Johnson's Government could be brought down with a no confidence vote within days.
It would plunge the country into chaos and could put Britain on the road to an election.
Jeremy Corbyn as Leader of the Opposition can apply to move a motion saying "that this House has no confidence in Her Majesty's Government".
A majority of MPs is needed for that motion to pass, which would topple the Government.
If a new Government with the support of the Commons cannot be formed within 14 days, an early general election is called.
Either the current Government or the Opposition both have the chance to try and do this, but usually the current PM resigns if they lose a vote.
But it's believed that it's in the power of the current PM to decide when the election is due to take place.
Boris could lose a vote of confidence and ignore it.
Or he could decide to stay in post until an election is called after Brexit day, allowing us to finally leave the EU.
MOST READ IN POLITICS
Dominic Grieve said the suspension of Parliament was an "outrageous" act and he would vote no confidence in his own administration if a vote was called.
He told the BBC that he will work with other MPs to "take steps to ensure that the prorogation doesn't happen, or move very quickly to a vote of no confidence in the Government."
"If it is impossible to prevent prorogation it is going to be difficult for people like myself to keep confidence in the government," he warned.
What happens next with plots to stop a No Deal Brexit?
NOW Boris has announced his plans to stop MPs sitting in Parliament for up to five weeks, it limits Remainers' options to stop a No Deal. What will they try and do next?
No confidence vote next week: The move will put pressure on Jeremy Corbyn to launch a vote of confidence next week when MPs come back to Westminster on Tuesday.
That plan was put on the back burner yesterday because MPs refused to back Mr Corbyn's plan to become a caretaker PM and storm into No10.
If MPs waited until October to force a vote of no confidence, they may not have time to do so, or it could see Brexit happen during the 14-day period after the Government lose a vote of confidence.
This wouldn't, then, stop a No Deal Brexit from happening.
A confidence vote next week may now have a better chance of success if MPs think this is their last chance.
But Government sources said if they lost such a vote they would stay in power until after Brexit day anyway.
Try and force through new law in just days: MPs will have a few days when Parliament gets back next week, and a few the week after too.
That could be enough time to push through a law using an emergency debate.
Last time rebel MPs forced a new law through in just a few days - giving them hope they can do it.
Take the battle to the courts: A court challenge to shutting down Parliament is due to be heard in Scotland on September 6.
MPs could try and focus their efforts into getting a court to deem the move unlawful, though this is unlikely to succeed.
Dominic Grieve said that he would look into efforts to stop shutting down Parliament after today's news.
SNP politicians and others are looking at trying to get a court ruling in the Court of Session to block prorogation too.
4
4
4
How will Boris shut down Parliament, and what does it mean?
BORIS Johnson has announced he will prorogue – or suspend – Parliament from the middle of September until just a few weeks before the Brexit deadline of October 31.
Remainers are furious at the PM’s move because it means they have a very short amount of time to mount a credible legal challenge against No Deal.
Proroguing sees the end of a parliamentary session - no matter what is being debated.
If the Commons is dissolved any bill that is currently being discussed or has not been properly answered will not progress.
MPs are currently in recess - meaning Parliament isn't sitting - which makes it harder for Remainers to push through anti-Brexit legislation or use obscure Parliamentary tricks to do block our divorce from Brussels.
This means Boris could send MPs away and stop them holding up Brexit.
The PM has also announced that a Queen’s Speech – which marks the opening of a session of Parliament – will be held on October 14.
The speech is a list of laws the government plans to get approved over the year – for Boris this could include a number of policy changes he hopes will win him voters in the case of an election.
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at [email protected] or call 0207 782 4368 . You can WhatsApp us on 07810 791 502. We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours.