Politics

Boris Johnson is flogging a dodgy Brexit deal. No wonder he doesn't want you to look under the bonnet


There will be two major votes today one of which Boris Johnson may break his recent habit and actually win.

The second reading of the  Withdrawal Agreement Bill (WAB) is expected to go through .

The numbers will be tight but Downing Street is confident of victory given that Tory rebels such as Oliver Letwin and Amber Rudd have said they will back the Bill.

The real problem  will be the programme motion setting out the timetable for the next stages of the WAB .

The Government wants to get this 110-page Bill through the Commons as quickly as possible in order to meet its deadline of leaving by October 31 and has given  the Commons just three days  to process a piece of legislation that will define our country for decades and involves major constitutional change.

By contrast, the Lisbon treaty was debated for 11 days, Maastricht for 23 and the Treaty of Rome for 22.

Commons leader Jacob Rees-Mogg used to champion parliament, now he’s try to muzzle it

There is an obvious irony here. 

Having won a referendum by calling for a  return of parliamentary sovereignty the Brexiteers are now doing everything they can to limit the powers of parliamentary oversight.

If Johnson loses the vote on the programme motion he can either accept the will of MPs and grant more time for MPs to debate the Withdrawal Agreement Bill.

But this would almost inevitably mean missing his October 31 “do or die” deadline.

Or he could pull the Bill entirely in which case we are in general election territory.

Even if the programme motion is passed Johnson still has to see off attempts by opposition MPs to amend the Bill.

As it stands the numbers do not appear to be there for  Labour’s plan for a customs union  or a second referendum.

The one to watch is a move to close down the loophole which would allow the government to crash out without a deal during the transition phase.

If that amendment were to succeed then Johnson is also likely to pull the Bill.

There is a  very good explainer here from the UK in a Changing Europe think tank  on the parliamentary hurdles that need to be overcome.

Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay is not helping the Government make its case

Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay yesterday did the Government no favours by revealing that under Boris Johnson’s Brexit plan anyone  exporting goods from Northern Ireland to Great Britain will have to fill out a customs declaration .

You can see why the DUP cannot support deal.

This is not an isolated minor detail. 

It explains, in part, why MPs are reluctant to bow to the mood of impatience in the country and gift Johnson the Brexit he wants.

Chancellor Sajid Javid has also refused a request to publish the economic impact assessment of Johnson’s deal. 

You can only presume he would publish it if it contained a rosy picture and is withholding it because he does not want voters to know the government is willingly undertaking an act of economic self harm.

Those champing at the bit for Brexit to be over and done with may want to ask how they would feel in ten years’ time when the consequences of this hard Brexit will be fully apparent if MPs had not raised objections on an issues as crucial as the future of the Union and the prosperity of the UK.

It would be a dereliction of duty if MPs did fulfil their responsibility to hold the executive to account.

Today’s agenda:

9.15am – Thomas Cook’s auditors, PwC and Ernst & Young, are quizzed by the Business select committee.

11.30 – Andrea Leadsom takes Business, Enterprise and Industrial Strategy questions.

2.30pm – Matt Hancock gives evidence to the Health and Social Care committee.

7pm – Vote on the Withdrawal Agreement Bill. Followed by vote on the programme motion.

What I am reading:

What Labour voters in Don Valley think of their local MP Caroline Flint and her decision to back Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal





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