Speaker refuses vote on Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal

Thanks for joining us for another crucial day in the Brexit saga.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s vision for Brexit will see its first big parliamentary test on Tuesday, when lawmakers vote on his new withdrawal agreement bill. Here, Britain will – for the first time – get a feeling for what level of support Johnson’s bill has in Parliament.

It comes after the Prime Minister’s Brexit plan was delayed yet again on Monday. The Speaker of the House of Commons refused the government’s request to hold a meaningful vote on it – the second time in three days that Johnson’s plans were scuppered.

Read more about where things stand, here:

Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson leaves 10 Downing Street in central London on October 19, 2019. - British MPs gather on October 19 for a historic vote on Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Brexit deal, a decision that could see the UK leave the EU this month or plunge the country into fresh uncertainty. (Photo by Tolga AKMEN / AFP) (Photo by TOLGA AKMEN/AFP via Getty Images)

Related article It's another crunch week for Brexit (no, we really mean it this time)

The European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill has been published in all its glory, totaling 110 pages, on Parliament’s website. It’s the piece of legislation that will enact Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s deal.

Some lawmakers have argued that there is insufficient time to scrutinize the bill, after the government announced it hopes to wrap everything up by Thursday.

You can read the full text here, where it’s been published online:

The very brief moment when the Withdrawal Agreement bill was presented to Parliament.

Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, has presented the Withdrawal Agreement bill to the House of Commons.

The first crucial vote on the Bill will come on Tuesday, on what’s confusingly called the “second reading” of the bill. Given the Speaker’s ruling today, it means this vote will be the first test of whether his Brexit plan is likely to pass the House of Commons.

European Parliament spokesman, Jaume Duch, has confirmed that the European Parliament “will vote on Brexit consent only after ratification by the UK.”

“The European Parliament is is ready to do its part of the job but for now, the ball is in UK’s court,” Duch added.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has shared a new video on Twitter, laying out a number of arguments for the deal he has negotiated with the European Union.

Michael Gove in the House of Commonns Monday night.

Michael Gove, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, is now making a no-deal Brexit statement.

He told lawmakers that the government has not yet received a response from the EU to the UK’s Brexit deadline extension request, adding that as a result plans to mitigate a no-deal Brexit have been ramped up.

“We must ensure that the vessel which brings certainty passes,” Gove stressed to lawmakers, referring to UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s deal.

We still don’t know the answer to this question, because Speaker John Bercow blocked a vote on the UK Prime Minister’s Brexit deal today.

But we will get a sense of the level of support for the deal in Parliament tomorrow, when the first vote is held on the detailed legislation that turns it into law.

That vote will be on what is confusingly known as the bill’s second reading. So which way will it go? CNN has attempted to estimate the level of support for Johnson’s deal, based on information on how lawmakers voted on Saturday, their public statements, and other reports in other credible media sources.

For the deal: Johnson can count on the support of the 287 voting Conservative lawmakers, including 28 hardline Brexiteers who never voted for his predecessor’s deal. He also has the support of 20 independent Conservatives, at least nine Labour MPs, and at least four independents – including one, John Woodcock, who appears to have changed his mind. That takes him to 320 – but in any vote, two MPs from this bloc would be nominated as tellers (counters of the votes), so that means he has 318 actual votes behind him.

Against the deal: Opposing Johnson are 231 Labour MPs, 35 members of the Scottish National Party, 19 Liberal Democrats, 10 Democratic Unionist Party MPs, five members of The Independent Group, 4 Welsh nationalists, three independent Conservatives and one Green MP. Another seven independent MPs would be likely to vote against the deal. That’s a total of 315. Remove two tellers and you get a final tally of 313.

Three Labour MPs and one independent Northern Ireland unionist remain uncommitted, but are leaning towards supporting the deal.

Based on these calculations it seems that the second reading should pass tomorrow. It may even pass by a bigger margin than these numbers suggest. Some opponents of the bill may wish to ensure it gets to its next parliamentary stage simply in order to try and amend it – perhaps by adding a provision for a second referendum, or keeping the UK in a customs union with the EU.

Pete Wishart in the House of Commons.

Scottish National Party lawmaker Pete Wishart has told Jacob Rees-Mogg that his proposed Business Statement is “totally unacceptable,” as lawmakers won’t have enough time to look over the deal.

Jacob Rees-Mogg in the House of Commons Monday.

Leader of the House of Commons, Jacob Rees-Mogg, has updated Parliament on what the rest of the week will look like.

During the Business Statement, Rees-Mogg confirmed the Government hoped to wrap everything up and pass all key Brexit legislation by Thursday – in just three days’ time. By British parliamentary standards, that’s breakneck speed. The legislation is likely to be fiendishly complicated, with reports that the bill will be more than 100 pages long.

Three days is not a great deal of time at all to consider such complex legislation, and we can be sure that some lawmakers opposed to Brexit will try and frustrate its progress.

The government wants to get everything done by October 31, so it can stick to Boris Johnson’s promise to get Brexit done by that date, do or die. But the government has already been forced by law to ask for an extension to the Brexit process until January 31 – and it may find out that it will need some of that time, after all.

See what’s planned, below:

European Parliament Brexit Coordinator Guy Verhofstadt has reiterated that the European Union will not ratify the EU Withdrawal Agreement before it has been ratified by the British Parliament, adding that it is now “up to the UK” to decide.

“The Brexit Steering Group met this afternoon to discuss the latest developments in the UK. We agreed to advise the Conference of Presidents to await the full ratification on the UK side before the [European Parliament] votes on the deal,” Verhofstadt tweeted Monday.?

“It’s now up to the UK Parliament to make their choice.”

Prime Minister Boris Johnson leaves Downing Street on October 19.

Boris Johnson is running into quite a few of the same problems as Theresa May.?

That shouldn’t come as a huge surprise to Johnson, of course. His Brexit deal, the high point of his premiership so far, is very similar to the exact same deal that May at the time considered a huge triumph.?

And as Johnson himself knows only too well, the opposition to that deal in the UK Parliament was enough ultimately to end May’s career.?

For Johnson, however, the Commons is in many respects less receptive to him than to May. He’s lost several of his own MPs to rival parties and expelled 21 more for voting against him. The opposition parties, hardly fans of May, are also more united in their resolve against Johnson.?

That could go some way to explaining why Johnson hasn’t managed to put his deal to a vote yet. While the consensus view in Westminster is that Johnson is closer to having the votes to pass a deal than May, it should be noted that MPs are finding new and unique ways to wreck Johnson’s plans.?

On Saturday, an amendment to the so-called meaningful vote meant that Johnson, to some extent, lost control of the Brexit process, something MPs were only too happy to see happen.?

They will no doubt relish the chance to tweak and amend the Withdrawal Agreement Bill, the actual legislation for leaving the EU, over the course of the week after the government presents it tonight.?

Presenting the bill itself, rather than a meaningful vote on his deal indicating that Parliament is willing to vote for it, has become the government’s only option, if it’s to get Brexit done by October 31.?

John Bercow’s decision to decline a second go at the meaningful vote has left Johnson with no choice but to play a very risky game and chance his entire Brexit plan being blown out of the water by the end of this week.?

MPs frustrating the will of the Prime Minister and a Speaker standing in the way of government plans. It’s all starting to sound very familiar. And one needn’t look too far back in history to see how it all worked out for May.?

Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay in the House of Commons.

Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay has told the House of Commons that the Withdrawal Agreement bill will be published later. He went on to criticize the UK’s main opposition party leader, Jeremy Corbyn, for delaying its publication after requesting an urgent question that demanded the very same thing.

“Genius,” Barclay taunted.

“The sooner this urgent question and the next urgent question are concluded, the sooner it will be available to members,” he added.

Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Today’s Brexit developments have been happening at breakneck speed. Here’s a summary of where we are.

No new vote on the deal: The UK government wanted to hold another vote on Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal today, after lawmakers deferred a decision on Saturday. It’s not usually possible to hold a vote on the same issue twice in a parliamentary session, but Parliament on Saturday voted to amend the motion on the deal, so some constitutionalists argued that it wasn’t technically the same thing. But the Speaker, John Bercow, didn’t agree and blocked the vote.?

Brexit legislation introduced: The government is due to introduce the Withdrawal Agreement Bill (WAB) on Monday, the piece of legislation that will enact Johnson’s deal. Lawmakers on Saturday voted to make?approval of the deal conditional on the legislation passing all its stages in the UK Parliament. That puts a lot more pressure on the progress of this bill.

More votes to come: The first crucial vote on the WAB will come on Tuesday, on what’s confusingly called the “second reading” of the bill. Given the Speaker’s ruling today, it means this vote will be the first test of whether his Brexit plan is likely to pass the House of Commons.

But, but, but: There’s much talk in political circles about whether opposition lawmakers could amend the withdrawal bill as it passes through the House of Commons this week. They could vote for a second referendum to be added to it, or they could change the substance of the deal itself, for example by mandating that the whole of the UK remains in an EU customs union. The government would be deeply opposed to either of these outcomes, and could choose to withdraw the legislation rather than implement it.

View in the EU: Given the failure to pass Johnson’s Brexit deal on Saturday, the Prime Minister was forced to request an extension to the Brexit process from Brussels. The law required the UK to ask that the current deadline of October 31 be extended by three months, to January 31. The EU is watching developments in London with interest, and an EU official told CNN that it would await the outcome of various votes this week before deciding what to do about the request.

Downing Street has told Britain’s PA news agency that it is “disappointed” with Speaker John Bercow’s ruling.

“We are disappointed that the Speaker has yet again denied us the chance to deliver on the will of the British people,” Boris Johnson’s official spokesman said, according to PA.

Speaker John Bercow is facing a barrage of criticism in the House of Commons, including accusations of bias.

Conservative Brexiteer Bernard Jenkin told Bercow “it is remarkable how often you please one lot and not the other.”

“It is most unusual for a Speaker so often to prevent the government of having debated the matters which the government wish to put before the House.”

Conservative MP Bernard Jenkin at Downing Street.

Bercow quickly slapped down Jenkin’s claims of bias, telling the House: “When he was getting decisions in his favor, he wasn’t grumbling. He’s grumbling now because he doesn’t like the judgment, but the judgment I’ve made is an honorable and fair one and I’m afraid if [Jenkin] doesn’t like it there’s not much I can do about that. I’m trying to do the right thing for the House.”

Conservative lawmaker Ben Bradley has expressed his frustrations over John Bercow’s ruling in the House of Commons Monday, tweeting that “once again the Speaker and the House look inward to internal process and bureaucracy whilst people outside of this place just want us to bloody get on with it.”

Conservative lawmaker Peter Bone.

Conservative Brexiteer Peter Bone has questioned the Speaker’s decision to not allow lawmakers to vote on Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s deal.

Here’s what he asked John Bercow:

And here’s Bercow’s reply:

The Speaker, however, defended his decision telling Bone: “I note the wider points that the honorable gentleman makes and I respect the fact that it is a point of view … I think I have made the argument for, and explained the rationale behind the judgment that I have made.”

Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow.

House of Commons Speaker John Bercow told lawmakers that the Government’s motion was “in substance, the same” as the one presented on Saturday, and concluded that there had been no change in circumstances since then.

UK Parliament Speaker John Bercow has refused permission for another vote on Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal on Monday.

Bercow said it “would be repetitive and disorderly” to hold a vote.

Questions have just wrapped up on defense issues. The House of Commons Speaker John Bercow is announcing his decision on whether a meaningful vote on Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal will be put to lawmakers.

Bercow hinted on Saturday that he may not allow the vote to take place, as the same provision can’t be debated twice in a parliamentary session.

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon addressed Scottish Parliament in September.

The First Ministers of Scotland and Wales have written a letter to European Council President Donald Tusk urging him to support a Brexit extension long enough to allow for a second referendum.

“An extension would allow us to adequately scrutinise the agreement and the draft legislation,” the letter by Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford and Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon wrote.

In another letter, addressed to UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the pair urged the British government to secure an extension that “allows our legislatures to carry out their proper constitutional and democratic functions.”

“We therefore wish to state in the clearest possible terms that we and our legislatures need time to analyse and consider the draft bill.”

Read the letters below:

Scotland’s highest court, the Court of Session, has postponed a ruling in the case on whether UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson fulfilled his obligations to ask the European Union for a Brexit extension.?

Anti-Brexit campaigners brought a case before the court earlier this month, seeking a legal guarantee that Johnson would comply with the Benn Act, which required him to ask the EU for a delay.?

Government lawyers insisted the Prime Minister understood his obligations and would not try to frustrate the intent of the law.?

On Saturday, Johnson sent two letters to the EU. One requested a Brexit extension and the other argued against granting it.?

Lawyers who brought the case argued today that the case should remain open to see how the EU responds. Lawyers for the government urged the court to close the case.?

In granting a continuation, Scotland’s most senior judge, Lord Carloway, said the court would keep the case open until it was clear the obligations of the Benn Act have been satisfied.?

This post has been updated to clarify the name of the court.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he'd rather be "dead in a ditch" than do?request an extension?to article 50.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson will pull the vote on his Brexit plan today if any parliamentary amendments are allowed to be debated “which would render it meaningless,” a Downing Street spokesperson said.

This may become a moot point if the Speaker of the House John Bercow blocks the vote first, on the basis that it was already debated over the weekend. Bercow is expected to decide on that around 3.30 p.m. UK time (10:30 a.m. ET).

The ratification process of the Brexit deal negotiated by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been launched on the EU side, an EU spokesperson said Monday.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson appeared to try to undermine his own request for a Brexit extension on Saturday, but the European Commission is still considering his application for a delay.

The fact that Johnson did not sign the letter requesting an extension “does not change anything” when it comes to the European Union deciding on that request, European Commission chief spokeswoman Mina Andreeva told journalists in Brussels on Monday.

“We have taken note of the House of Commons vote on Saturday and the request to extend Article 50 until the 31st January 2020. President Tusk is now consulting leaders of the EU27 on this. And, it is first and foremost for the UK to explain the next steps. We from our side will of course follow all the events in London this week very closely,” Andreeva said.?

She added that the ratification process of the deal negotiated by Johnson has been launched on the EU side, and that the bloc’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier will debrief the EU Parliament’s Brexit Steering Group in Strasbourg on Monday afternoon.?

Quick recap: Johnson sent three letters to the European Union on Saturday, it included an unsigned letter with the exact wording in the Benn Act (the legislation that obliged Johnson to request a Brexit delay); and a personal letter from Johnson saying that a further delay would be “corrosive.”

The European Union could be open to a short Brexit extension if a meaningful vote on Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal passes today, and Westminster needed more time to approve legislation, Germany’s foreign minister told reporters.

“I hope that the British lower house, showing the necessary responsibility, can take a decision on this today and that on the basis of this decision we will be in a position to achieve an orderly Brexit,” Heiko Maas said in Berlin, according to Reuters.

If a vote on Johnson’s deal takes place and is rejected the EU would consider a longer extension, Maas added.

“Should there not be a majority in the British lower house, then we in the European Union would have to look at whether there would then be a full extension - and only then would there be a decision about that. At the moment, I don’t think it is sensible or appropriate to speculate about that,” he said, Reuters reported.?

Speaker John Bercow could block a meaningful vote today.

Things will kick off in Parliament on Monday at 2.30 p.m. UK time (9.30 a.m. ET), according to the House of Commons Order Paper, which sets the agenda for the day.

After questions on defense issues, which are scheduled to end at 3.30 p.m., a?meaningful vote on Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal could be put to lawmakers.

The House of Commons Speaker John Bercow, who will decide on whether the vote will take place, “plans to make a statement on proceedings on this Motion immediately after Defence Questions,” according to the order paper.

Lord Pannick represented campaigner Gina Miller when she challenged the prorogation of Parliament.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson “just about” acted lawfully when he sent three letters to the European Union on Saturday, Lord Pannick?told the Times newspaper on Monday.

The three documents included a cover letter from the PM’s top diplomat in Brussels explaining that Johnson was complying with the law; an unsigned letter with the exact wording in the Benn Act (the legislation that obliged Johnson to request a Brexit delay); and a personal letter from Johnson saying that a further delay would be “corrosive.”

Questions raged over the weekend as to whether Johnson’s contradictory correspondence would get him in legal trouble.

Pannick helped defeat the government in the UK Supreme Court over the prorogation of parliament in September, and he told the Times:

This comes as judges in Scotland are due to consider the case that sought to force Johnson to comply with the Benn Act, forcing him to submit the extension request.

That case may seem a moot point now, given that Johnson sent that request on Saturday night, but some have questioned whether he stuck to the spirit of the law by undermining his own request.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson will seek to bring his Brexit deal back for a vote in Parliament on Monday.

The French?Secretary of State for European Affairs has implored British lawmakers to make a decision on the Brexit deal before the end of October – the date when the UK is due to leave the European Union.

“We need a yes or a no before October 31,”?Amélie de Montchalin told CNN affiliate BFMTV on Monday. She added that, if the UK’s Parliament rejects Boris Johnson’s current deal, European leaders might impose conditions to the extension, such as an election or a second referendum.?

“The worst of?Brexit?is not a no-deal, it is extended uncertainty. The fact that today, we are unable to say to businesses, fishermen, farmers and families, ‘Voila! This is what is going to happen,’ is the worst. This is what creates recession,”?de Montchalin?said.?

This weekend, Boris Johnson did the very thing he said he’d rather be “dead in a ditch” than do:?request an extension?to article 50 and possibly delay?Brexit.

The UK Prime Minister did so kicking and screaming – all the while making clear who he believes is to blame for this delay:?opposition lawmakers.

Having failed to get his?new Brexit deal approved?by Parliament on Saturday, Johnson was legally obliged to request the extension. His opponents in Parliament had previously passed legislation, referred to as the Benn Act, that instructed Johnson to send a letter to Brussels requesting the extension if no formal deal had been approved by 11 p.m. on Saturday.

And those same opponents sealed the PM’s fate, when they voted in favor of an amendment to Johnson’s deal by Oliver Letwin, which made meeting that deadline impossible.

The UK, in fact, sent three letters. A cover letter from Johnson’s top diplomat in Brussels explained that the PM was complying with the law. Second, a photocopy of the exact wording in the Benn act, unsigned by the PM. And finally, a personal letter from Johnson to all European Union leaders saying that he was still pressing ahead with his goal of leaving the EU on October 31 and that further delay would be corrosive.

Johnson, it appears, is trying to turn Saturday’s defeat into victory. His repeated message that this was Parliament’s decision, not his, is not just for MPs in London or EU leaders to read. For months, Johnson has been painting a very clear picture to the public of him being a man fighting tooth and nail to get Brexit done by October? 31, and opposition MPs as Brexit thieves, stealing Brexit from the people.

Read more from Luke McGee here.

Good morning from London.

It seemed for a brief moment last week that a Brexit agreement may have been secured on Saturday – but not so fast.

A rare, emergency sitting of Parliament at the weekend failed to find a conclusion to Britain’s political crisis. But an ending to the saga could emerge soon.

Today, Prime Minister Boris Johnson will seek to bring his Brexit deal back for a vote in Parliament. What will follow is a battle over amendments, parliamentary procedure, and a challenge in the courts.

Speaker of the House John Bercow hinted on Saturday that he may not allow the vote to take place, as the same provision can’t be voted on twice in a parliamentary session. Bercow will decide on that later on Monday.

If the Prime Minister survives those hurdles and a vote passes on his deal, the UK could leave the EU in a matter of days.

But nothing is straightforward in the world of Brexit, and defeat for Johnson means all hell could break loose.

As EU leaders debate the extension request that Johnson was forced to send on Saturday, British lawmakers will have a chance to pitch their preferred Brexit options – and a collapse in the Commons could still cause a general election.

Strap in for yet another crucial week in the Brexit process.