BORIS Johnson today slammed a “deluded” Remainer plot which looks set sabotage his Brexit vote and force a THIRD Brexit delay.
The steely-faced PM is attempting to woo wavering MPs in the House of Commons as his deal – and promise to leave on October 31 – hangs in the balance.
The PM is begging MPs on a make-or-break day for Brexit, where they are sitting on a Saturday for the first time since the Falklands war in 1982.
However, the whole thing could be completely derailed with a fresh Remainer plot to kick Boris’ vote into the long grass for another day, which looks likely to pass.
If MPs vote in favour of the amendment from Tory rebel Sir Oliver Letwin, today’s meaningful vote will be pushed back for days until ALL the Brexit legislation is done.
The PM has said he might not even bother with today’s main vote if it wins.
Boris blasted the act of sabotage as a “delusion” and warned that further delay would be “pointless, expensive and deeply corrosive of public trust.”
And he said again he would rather be “dead in a ditch” than seek an extension.
It comes as:
- The PM has written an open letter to Sun readers in a bid to appeal to Tory and Labour MPs dithering over the crunch vote.
- He launched a love bomb offensive to woo MPs before todays Super Saturday vote.
- Labour Brexiteers have been warned by Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell that they face consequences if they back Boris’ deal
- Labour Remainers will make a new bid for a second referendum if Boris’ vote fails later
- A poll showed Brits want MPs to get the deal done today and finally move on
- Follow our live blog for latest updates from Saturday’s emergency Commons sitting to vote on Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal
Addressing a packed House of Commons with a soft tone to try and win over colleagues from across the House, he hailed his secured Brexit deal as a “new deal that can heal the rift in British politics”.
Boris hoped it would “unite the warring instincts in us all” and “end this debilitating feud” so the country could move on.
“Now is the time for this great House of Commons to come together and bring the country together today,” he added.
“Now is the time to get Brexit done.”
As it stands the PM is around 25 short of the 320 MPs he needs to seal the deal, but many are still undecided.
No10 has said this morning they will pull the entire main vote from the day if it looks likely to pass.
A source said: “A vote for Letwin is a vote for delay and the whips will send everyone home.
“A vote for Letwin means MPs voting to render the entire day, that they demanded, meaningless. It would perfectly sum up this broken Parliament.”
Another senior No10 source said this morningthat if he is forced to go for a delay today, Boris could try for an election again.
They said: “A vote for Letwin is a vote for delay. The public would be appalled. MPs should vote for the deal.
“If Parliament votes for pointless delay, an election is an alternative.”
Labour’s Caroline Flint came out to give the Letwin both barrels today.
She stormed that the amendment is a “panic measure” and “the sponsors of the Benn Act have only one motivation, to delay Brexit and stop it.”
The Speaker this morning confirmed the Letwin amendment would be voted on, and another one on a second referendum too – but that will only happen if the overall Brexit vote fails today.
A Labour source told The Sun today: “Nearly all of Labour undecideds are backing Letwin so it will sail through.”
But Mr Corbyn confirmed that Labour would not be voting for the deal today.
“He has renegotiated the withdrawal agreement and made it even worse,” the lefie Labour boss raged.
“These benches will not be duped – we will not back this sell out deal.”
A fuming Nigel Dodds of the DUP said that Boris deal was not Brexit for the whole of the UK and said it would drive a coach and horses through the Belfast agreement.
The Northern Irish party – previously allies of the Tories – have vowed to vote against it this afternoon.
He said no British PM could agree to such terms to divide the UK, and that any divisions should be done with the consent of the Northern Ireland assembly.
DUP MP Jim Shannon shouted at the PM: “Sell out! Treachery! Betrayal!
The Government was this morning fiercely lobbying the 28 hardline Brexiteer MPs who voted against Theresa Mays deal on all three occasions.
They fear the deal wont pass unless they reduce the number among these so-called Spartans to fewer than two or three.
The PM was also counting on 20 of the ex-Tory rebels he sacked to back his deal but despite winning the majority over there were still up to six – including Philip Hammond – who had yet to confirm they would back the deal.
Today Steve Baker told the hardline group of Tory Eurosceptics after a last-minute meeting that they SHOULD vote for Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal.
Mark Francois, Lee Rowley and Bernard Jenkin have this morning come out for the PM’s deal.
If all follow their lead, this could push Boris over the line of what he needs when the votes come from around 2.30 onwards.
A YouGov poll found that 41 per cent of voters want MPs to back the deal.
Just 24 per cent want a defeat. The rest dont know.
Meanwhile, public have been queuing for hours to get a chance to sit in the gallery to watch today’s action.
Boris has also unveiled a fresh workers rights package in a last-ditch love-bombing of Labour MPs to get today’s crunch Brexit vote over the line.
The PM also promised to protect current EU environment standards by enshrining animal welfare and climate change regulations in UK law to ensure they are not lowered after Brexit.
In the package too are commitments to improve unfair dismissal protections by reducing the qualifying period from two years to one year, and also to tighten up employee terms and conditions following a business takeover.
Among the concessions designed to win over wavering Labour MPs, No10 pledged to hold a legally-binding vote on the final EU trade deal the UK strikes with the bloc.
It effectively gives MPs a veto on any move to depart from EU standards on workers rights and environmental standards.
The three-pronged announcement came late last night after Downing Street embarked on a final 24-hour charm offensive of wavering Labour MPs who represent Leave constituencies.
Eight Labour MPs have today declared or told The Sun they will vote for the deal.
But they were being threatened with deselection by Momentum boss Jon Lansman if they vote for the PMs agreement later on.
