Brexit deal: Boris Johnson launches frantic sales pitch ahead of Commons vote – live news

The Shadow Chancellor, John McDonnell, has indicated that the priority of Labour tomorrow will be on opposing the deal which the government has negotiated, rather than pushing for a second referendum or ‘confirmatory vote.’

“To be frank I think on Saturday we should just vote the deal down because it’s such a bad deal,” he said, speaking on the Today programme.

He appealed to other Labour MP’s such as Ronnie Campbell (who has been a firm backer of Jeremy Corbyn, pictured with him below) , who has revealed he is likely to vote for the deal when it comes to the House of Commons in a special Saturday sitting, not to do so.

“I’m going to have a chat with Ronnie,” added McDonnell, who warned against what powers would come into the government’s hand on issues such as employment rights.

“These are the extreme right that have attacked trade unions throughout their careers and you cannot allow them to have these powers.”

Campbell, MP for Blyth Valley in the north east, told the Evening Chronicle last night: “I’m likely to vote for it. I think we’ve got to get something across the line.

“The people of this country are just sick and tired of the shenanigans that have gone on in Parliament over the last three years.

“Something’s got to happen. Something’s got to break.”

Among old (former) colleagues from the Labour party, there is some disquiet after Chuka Umunna wondered aloud “how on earth” any Labour MP could vote for Johnson’s deal.

“The Labour party is generally of one voice in saying that people didn’t vote to be poorer and that is what this agreement is about,” the former Labour, now Liberal Democrat, MP added.

“I haven’t spoken to any Labour MP representing a leave seat who says that their constituent voted to make the country poorer.”

He added that a lot of those who had been mooted as potential supporters were people who were not standing again and he would “very respectfully ask them, do you want one of your last acts in parliament to be helping to facilitate one of the most rightwing, nationalist, political projects this country has ever seen?”

An answer came in fairly short order on Twitter from Gloria de Piero, a Labour MP who is stepping down at the next election as the MP for Ashfield, where voters backed leave by 70% in the 2016 EU referendum.

In October, she was one of 19 Labour MPs who wrote to the European Commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker, saying they “wish to see the British EU referendum result honoured without further delay”.

A cheery-looking Dominic Raab has come out to bat on the morning television bulletins, claiming the deal is a “cracking one” for Northern Ireland.

Not only does Northern Ireland have “frictionless access” to the single market, but there is no hard border and a consent mechanism has been enshrined, the foreign secretary told BBC1.

On tomorrow’s vote, Raab said the government would be making the argument to MPs who are worried about no deal that this is the opportunity to secure a deal

“It’s dealt with the lion’s share that people like me certainly had with the last deal.”

It takes about two minutes before he checks off Downing Street’s “now is the moment to get Brexit done” talking point (election slogan?).

There’s a concerted attempt by Raab to paint the deal as very different from Theresa May’s, adding that the prime minister, “against all the odds”, had secured key changes.

Wilson added that the DUP made concessions with the prime minister in order to help him get a deal but suspected he would do what was best for the Conservative party.

“We are disappointed he didn’t stick to the red lines he said he would,” the east Belfast MP said. He also voiced the view that a successful election could help Johnson get a better deal.

“I believe, with a big majority, he can be more robust in his negotiations,” Wilson added.

“It is one of the reasons why we believe that voting this down tomorrow is not the end of the game but in fact probably opens up possibilities for the government that are not available at present but will be after a general election.”

The DUP will “absolutely” be voting against the deal when it comes to the House of Commons, the party’s Brexit spokesman, Sammy Wilson, has said, contradicting a suggestion earlier from Peter Bone that the unionist party might be willing to support it.

“Why would we when this deal goes against everything, first of all that the government promised they would do to Northern Ireland,” Wilson told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

“A syphoning off from the rest of the United Kingdom and putting a border down the Irish Sea, in addition to extra costs for Northern Ireland’s businesses.”

Wilson added that the party would vote as a block and that there was no question of abstaining. The party had already been having conversations with Tory MPs and encouraging them to vote with the DUP “to protect the union”.

Good morning. This is Ben Quinn picking up the blog from Kate.

Michael Dougan, professor of European law at University of Liverpool, has this interesting Twitter thread breaking down Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal, the majority of which “remains identical to that finalised by Theresa May”. It’s worth a read.

This, from the BBC’s Mark Urban, is quite extraordinary.

How the papers covered it

Johnson’s progress in getting his deal features on the front pages today, though most papers make it clear that this is not a done deal. The Times says: “Final hurdle in sight as Johnson gets his deal”, the Guardian reports: “Johnson gets his Brexit deal – now it’s a numbers game”. The Mirror says: “On the brink of Brexit … once again”, the i has: “Johnson gets his EU deal … now for the tricky part” and the FT says: “DUP veto threat leaves Johnson’s Brexit deal gamble in the balance”.

Other papers are sounding warnings to MPs to vote for the deal. The Telegraph quotes from the prime minister: “It’s my deal or no deal”, the Daily Mail features a picture of Johnson pointing, with the headline: “He’s done his duty. Now MPs must do theirs”, the Sun has rhyming advice: “Get real … take the deal” and the Express says: “Just do it!”

Good morning politics fans and welcome to another day on the Brexit train.

Yesterday, Boris Johnson got the EU to sign off (not formally, that only happens after they do some careful legal scrutinising of the deal) on a Brexit deal that he said was “a great deal for our country” as well as “a very good deal for our friends in the EU”.

Johnson will now launch a charm offensive to win support for the deal, which MPs will vote on in a historic sitting on Saturday. The PM has said he is “very confident” the deal will be approved, even without the backing of the DUP, which issued a statement early on Thursday morning saying it could not support the government’s position.

The party went further later in the day after the text of the reworked withdrawal agreement was published by the European commission. Arlene Foster’s party issued a more strident statement, saying the agreement “drives a coach and horses through the professed sanctity of the Belfast agreement”.

Johnson hopes to frame Saturday’s vote as a dramatic “new deal or no deal” moment – but EU leaders declined to come to his aid in Brussels by ruling out any further delay to Brexit.

So today, we can expect to see wrangling, posturing and sweet-talking, as Johnson and his allies try to play the numbers game to get the vote passed on Saturday.

I’ll be here on the blog, keeping you company in the early hours, before handing over to my colleagues. As always, you can contact me on Twitter or via email (kate.lyons@theguardian.com).