Good morning: get ready for a busy day
Hello and welcome back to the FT’s Brexit live blog. There’s lots of news expected today on both sides of the Channel.
In Brussels, EU leaders are expected to agree a flexible extension to the UK’s Brexit date from October 31 to the end of January. The breakthrough comes as France has dropped its objection to such a lengthy delay after President Emmanuel Macron and Boris Johnson, the UK prime minister, spoke by phone at the weekend.
French officials predicted there would “very probably” be an agreement on Monday, the FT’s Brussels team reported on Sunday.
On the UK front, MPs will debate Boris Johnson’s motion to trigger an election on December 12 beginning at 3.30pm London time. Debate is scheduled for 90 minutes, meaning a vote could take place as soon as 5pm.
Mr Johnson is using the 2011 Fixed-Term Parliaments Act in his bid to call elections. That piece of legislation will require him to garner support from two-thirds of the House of Commons, or 434 MPs, meaning Labour will have to get on-board. Currently, that looks unlikely, although it could be subject to change if Brussels agrees to a ‘flextension’ on the Brexit date.
A one-page bill drawn up by the Liberal Democrats, seeking an election on December 9, appears more likely to succeed. This would only require a simple majority and it appears Mr Johnson could back that measure.
Stick around here for all the updates.
