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Boris Johnson‘s key adviser Dominic Cummings clashed today with former attorney general Dominic Grieve over whether the Government can crash Britain out of the EU in less than three months’ time.
Mr Cummings, far right, who masterminded the Vote Leave campaign, also outlined a key part of Downing Street’s strategy to push through Brexit “do or die” by October 31, by stressing that the Prime Minister believed that “politicians don’t get to choose which votes they respect”.
The Government is believed to be preparing for a general election, which it could seek to frame as a “people vs politicians” contest.
Mr Grieve, far left, who backs a second referendum, believes MPs can prevent a potentially chaotic crash-out from the EU. He said Mr Cummings’s argument was based on “a mixture of his characteristic arrogance with ignorance”, adding: “It’s simply wrong.”
Doorstepped by Sky News this morning, Mr Cummings said: “The most simple thing is: the Prime Minister believes that politicians don’t get to choose which votes they respect. That’s the critical issue.”
Mr Cummings is understood to have told ministers that Tory rebels will not be able to stop a no-deal.
Downing Street has pointedly refused to say what Mr Johnson would do if Parliament voted to block a no-deal —and if he would respect the views of MPs.
If the Prime Minister lost a confidence vote, he could call a general election to take place after Brexit happens at the end of October.
Mr Grieve said he did not believe Mr Cummings properly understood how the constitution or the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 works.
He stressed it could allow a new administration, possibly a unity government, to be formed in a 14-day period after a confidence vote.
Mr Cummings rejected Mr Grieve’s criticism, saying: “I don’t think I am arrogant. I don’t know very much about very much. Mr Grieve will see what he is right about.”
The Government has ramped up no-deal preparations as it seeks to force Brussels to strike a new Brexit deal.
But the focus on quitting the EU “no ifs, no buts” on October 31 has sent the pound plunging, increasing the cost of summer holidays for millions of Britons heading abroad.
The “Dom v Dom” row flared up as shadow chancellor John McDonnell faced a growing backlash for saying the Scottish Parliament should decide whether there should be a second independence referendum in Scotland.
Former shadow cabinet member Owen Smith added: “I don’t know who John McDonnell thinks he was speaking for here — but not for me or for Labour as we’ve known it for a century. As democratic socialists, @ johnmcdonnellMP, we believe in pooling risks and sharing rewards. We believe in internationalism, in UNION, not division.”
Speaking at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival yesterday, Mr McDonnell did not back a new Scottish referendum.
His remark followed comments yesterday by Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon that the SNP would “always want to be part of a progressive alternative to a Tory government”. Mr McDonnell said: “It will be for the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish people to decide that. They will take a view about whether they want another referendum. Nicola Sturgeon said by late next year or the beginning of 2021.”
He added: “We would not block something like that. We would let the Scottish people decide. That’s democracy. There are other views within the party but that’s our view.”
In preparation for a potential no-deal Brexit, food industry chiefs called for parts of competition law to be set aside to allow firms to co-ordinate and direct supplies with each other.
Food bosses believe the restrictions could make it more difficult to get supplies to communities hit by shortages in a crash-out scenario.
The industry said that, because of stockpiling for Christmas, leaving the EU in the autumn could pose more difficulties than the original Brexit date last March.
One retailer told the BBC that October 31 “is about the worst day you can pick”, because warehouse capacity is at 105 per cent in November, compared with 75 per cent to 80 per cent in March.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has met US President Donald Trump in Washington, as well as Vice President Mike Pence, and was due to have further talks today with other senior administration figures including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and National Security Adviser John Bolton.
