Sajid Javid Photographer: Chris J. Ratcliffe/Bloomberg Parliament rejected the premier’s first attempt to secure a poll, and is making a law to force him to delay Brexit until Jan. 31 if he can’t get a deal with the European Union. There are growing signs his cabinet is already split over his tactics, especially the expulsion of 21 rebel MPs this week.
Key Developments:
Minister Jo Johnson resigns, citing tension between “family loyalty and the “national interest”
Johnson to make speech appealing for election this afternoon
House of Lords debating bill to block no-deal Brexit until Friday
Splits appear in cabinet over Johnson’s tactics
The pound rose 0.7% to highest level against dollar in more than a month
Business Secretary to Meet With Banks (11:40 a.m.)
Business Secretary Andrea Leadsom will meet later Thursday with executives from the country’s main banks to discuss their support for small and medium-sized companies through Brexit, Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s spokesman, James Slack, told reporters in London.
Johnson Wants Election Before Oct. 17 EU Council (11:35 a.m.)
Prime Minister Boris Johnson will say in a speech this afternoon that he wants an election before the EU council meeting on Oct. 17, his spokesman James Slack said.
“The prime minister believes we should have the election before the EU council and asks MPs to reflect on the sustainability of their position,’’ Slack told reporters. “Having chosen to introduce a bill that destroys our negotiating position,’’ he said, politicians “ must take responsibility for their actions.”
Johnson’s Brother Quits Over Strategy (11:30 a.m.)
Boris Johnson’s own brother, Jo Johnson, said he’s quitting the government and his seat in Parliament because of differences with the prime minister.
“In recent weeks I’ve been torn between family loyalty and the national interest,” Jo Johnson said on Twitter. “It’s an unresolvable tension & time for others to take on my roles as MP & Minister. #overandout.”
The departure is a severe blow to the prime minister at a time when he’s alienated the moderate wing of his party by expelling 21 MPs on Tuesday because they voted against the government in order to stave off the risk of a no-deal Brexit on Oct. 31.
Jo Johnson is a longstanding pro-European -- and had quit as a minister under former Prime Minister Theresa May because he believed the country needed a second referendum on Brexit. It raised eyebrows when he agreed to serve in his brother’s government -- because the premier was the figurehead of the Leave campaign in the 2016 referendum.
It’s been an honour to represent Orpington for 9 years & to serve as a minister under three PMs. In recent weeks I’ve been torn between family loyalty and the national interest - it’s an unresolvable tension & time for others to take on my roles as MP & Minister. #overandout
— Jo Johnson (@JoJohnsonUK) September 5, 2019
Former Labour MP Berger Joins Liberal Democrats (11 a.m.)
While Johnson has been expelling MPs from his party, Parliament’s fourth party, the Liberal Democrats keep growing. Luciana Berger, who quit Labour earlier in the year, said on Thursday she’s joined the Liberal Democrats.
It’s the party’s second addition of the week, after Philip Lee’s defection from the Conservatives on Tuesday deprived Johnson of his majority. They now have 16 MPs.
Javid Hopes Rebels Can Return (9:30 a.m.)
Chancellor of the Exchequer Sajid Javid said he wants the 21 rebels expelled from the Conservative Party on Tuesday to be reinstated, though he also added Johnson had “no choice” but to fire them.
Election Looms As U.K. PM Johnson Raises Stakes
Sajid Javid Photographer: Chris J. Ratcliffe/Bloomberg
Javid’s comments follow reports of an argument in cabinet this week in which a group of senior ministers, led by no-deal Brexit minister Michael Gove, demanded that Johnson should give the rebels a way back into the party. The prime minister refused.
“I would like to see those colleagues come back at some point,” Javid told LBC radio. “They are not just my colleagues; these are my friends, they are good Conservatives.”
Javid said it was right for Johnson to make Tuesday’s vote -- allowing Parliament to seize the legislative timetable in order to block a no-deal Brexit -- a matter of confidence in the government. Those who voted against it knew the “consequences,” he said.
Swinson Wants Extension Before Election (9 a.m.)
Liberal Democrat Leader Jo Swinson said she wants a general election only after an extension to Brexit has been agreed with Brussels.
She said she believes Johnson wants an election before his exit deadline of Oct. 31 so he can take the U.K. out of the EU without a deal and blame Brussels for the failure to get an agreement.
“He’s frightened of being found out,” she told Sky News. “He’s got an opportunity to go and that great deal he said he could get and get it past Parliament, but he’s frightened to do that.”
Caroline Nokes, one of the MPs expelled from the Tory Party on Tuesday, also said Johnson shouldn’t rush a national vote. “It’s really cynical to try to force through an election,” she said. “The tool we need in Parliament is time.”
Labour ‘Consulting’ on Election Timing (Earlier)
Labour Treasury Spokesman John McDonnell said the party is consulting with its own MPs and other parties over the best timing for a general election.
While some want a national vote once a law against a no-deal Brexit is enacted, others want to wait until after a further delay to Jan. 31 has been secured before going to the country. None of the opposition parties have any confidence that Johnson will keep to his word, he said in media interviews on Thursday morning.
“We have to be the adults in the room,” McDonnell said, after comparing Johnson to a toddler having a tantrum. Labour wants to keep “as much control as we possibly over the date of that election,” he told Sky News.
Earlier:
Johnson Boxed In Over Brexit as Bill Is Pushed Through Lords
Pound Rally Stalls After Lawmakers Reject Johnson’s Brexit Plans
Brussels Edition: No Deal for Boris
To contact the reporters on this story:
Thomas Penny in London at tpenny@bloomberg.net;
Alex Morales in London at amorales2@bloomberg.net;
Kitty Donaldson in London at kdonaldson1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net
Stuart Biggs, Mark Williams