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Johnson sparks election warning with ‘do or die’ Brexit pledge


Boris Johnson has issued a “do or die” pledge to leave the EU with or without a deal on October 31, prompting warnings that his strategy would plunge Britain into a general election and hand the keys of Number 10 to Jeremy Corbyn.

Mr Johnson, attempting to relaunch his flagging Conservative leadership bid, doubled down on his hard Brexit strategy, announcing that his campaign would be chaired by leading Eurosceptic Iain Duncan Smith.

The frontrunner to become the British prime minister made a series of proposals for a new Brexit deal — all of which have previously been categorically rejected by the EU — and warned that he would execute a no-deal exit if he failed to get his way.

In a series of interviews, he said Britain would leave the EU on October 31 “do or die, come what may” and vowed to rip up the EU withdrawal treaty, including the Irish backstop. The former foreign secretary also predicted that with the assistance of some “positive energy” the EU would agree to a standstill trade agreement while Britain negotiated a trade deal that resolved the Irish border issue.

Mr Johnson calculates that the EU would also have much to lose from a no-deal exit, a point illustrated when Ireland’s finance minister on Tuesday warned of 85,000 potential job losses if the UK crashed out of the EU on Halloween.

Paschal Donohoe said 50,000-55,000 jobs could be lost within two years of the UK leaving the EU without a deal, with another 30,000 at risk in the medium term. Tory Eurosceptics hope that Ireland’s concerns will feed into the EU’s negotiating position.

Mr Johnson’s comments were denounced by his Tory rival Jeremy Hunt, who told the BBC: “It’s more likely to trip us into a general election before we’ve delivered Brexit and that would hand the keys to Jeremy Corbyn and we’d have no Brexit at all.”

Mr Hunt implied that Mr Johnson would struggle to deliver a deal because he was not trusted in Brussels. “In the end you don’t do a deal with someone you don’t trust,” he said.

But Mr Johnson’s plans for future negotiations in Brussels may founder less on his personal character and more on the fact that his strategy bears the hallmarks of his previous “pro-cake, pro-eating it” strategy.

Mr Johnson renewed his Brexit push as he attempted to relaunch his campaign after days of media coverage about a row with his partner Carrie Symonds in her south London flat.

But he admitted in an interview with radio station LBC that a vital part of his Brexit strategy could only work if he struck a deal with the EU, undermining his claim that Britain could execute an orderly no-deal exit.

“What you can’t do is unilaterally use a Gatt 24 solution,” Mr Johnson said, referring to the World Trade Organization rule that Brexiters maintain would offer a relatively pain-free route to a no-deal exit.

“But you could agree with our EU friends and partners to go forward together on that basis,” he said. Mark Carney, Bank of England governor, and Liam Fox, trade secretary, have pointed out that Mr Johnson’s plan would require a deal with the EU.

Mr Hunt fears that Mr Johnson’s make-or-break strategy for Brexit on October 31 will lead to parliament rejecting a no-deal exit, triggering an election he claims would be “political suicide” for the Conservatives.

Both men are battling for the support of about 160,000 Tory members. A new Conservative leader will be named on July 23, prompting a flurry of political drama before the House of Commons summer break.

Theresa May is expected to take prime minister’s questions in the House of Commons for the final time on July 24 and the new premier would enter Downing Street later that same day. The Commons rises for the summer recess on July 25.

If Labour wanted to move a confidence vote in the new prime minister, it would be on the last day of term. Some Tory MPs have threatened to vote down a Johnson administration if he were to insist on pursuing a no-deal strategy.



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