Brexit news: Fever mounts over election dogfight as Boris Johnson accused of planning 'purge'

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been accused of planning a 'purge' of moderate MPs
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Westminster was gripped today with growing talk of a general election as Boris Johnson was accused of planning a “purge” of moderate Conservative MPs to force through his Brexit plans.

Conservative whips threatened to axe backbenchers from the parliamentary party and bar them from standing as Tories in any election if they back a new Bill this week that aims to stop a potentially catastrophic crash-out from the EU.

In an interview with the Evening Standard, senior Tory rebel Rory Stewart urged colleagues to “hold the line” as he warned the Prime Minister against trying to “blackmail” them in the increasingly angry Brexit clash.

Former justice secretary David Gauke, a fellow rebel, believes the Government’s strategy is to now lose the showdown Commons vote on no deal and then to seek to force an election — which would require Labour to vote for it under the 2011 Fixed-term Parliaments Act.

Mr Stewart said Boris Johnson had 'shot himself in the foot by shutting down Parliament 
EPA

Former prime minister Tony Blair warned Labour against falling into the “elephant trap” of triggering an election before the current Brexit crisis is resolved over fears that the Tories would gain a “comfortable majority” — given Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn’s unpopularity among voters — and then be able to impose a hard Brexit on the country.

However, Mr Corbyn appeared eager for the country to go to the polls soon, saying: “A general election is the democratic way forward, to give the people the choice between two very different directions for our country.”

Under the Fixed-term Parliaments Act, two-thirds of MPs must back an election for one to go ahead.

Downing Street would not rule out the Prime Minister seeking to trigger a general election very soon, with speculation escalating after it emerged that Mr Johnson had invited all Tory MPs to No 10 this evening, and a Cabinet meeting was also being held.

Asked if the PM was going to hold an election, his official spokesman said: “He’s been asked this on many occasions and his answer has been he doesn’t want there to be an election. He believes what the public wants is for him to deliver Brexit on October 31 and that is what he’s entirely focused upon.”

As MPs returned to Westminster after the summer recess, Mr Stewart told the Standard that he believed the rebels have “got the numbers” to inflict a major defeat on the Prime Minister with legislation blocking no deal.

The former international development secretary also said that Mr Johnson had “shot himself in the foot” by shutting down Parliament for a month in the run-up to the EU exit day of October 31. Mr Stewart told the Standard: “Nobody should be blackmailed with the threat of being thrown out of the Conservative Party. We are proud Conservatives with a long record of service to our party.

“Our demand for an orderly exit is entirely in line with the manifesto on which we stood.”

He appealed to fellow rebels: “Be strong, be strong, hold the line, hold the line, hold the line.”

There was speculation today that the Government had been intending to keep secret the prorogation of Parliament until mid-September so that rebels would not have enough time to pass a bill to stop no deal.

There was also anger among MPs against Mr Johnson’s senior No 10 aide Dominic Cummings after he sacked Sonia Khan, a special adviser to Chancellor Sajid Javid, after details of the prorogation plan leaked. An ally of Ms Khan denied that she had leaked the plan.

Mr Gauke accused the Government of “goading” some Tories to rebel. He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “It’s obviously a particularly confrontational approach and, I think, designed, frankly, to realign the Conservative Party, to transform the Conservative Party very much in the direction of a Brexit party.”

Despite the public threat to withdraw the whip, many rebels had not been contacted by the whips’ office. Mr Gauke added: “They seem to be quite prepared for there to be a rebellion then to purge those who support the rebellion from the party.

“I think the strategy, to be honest, is to lose this week and then seek a general election, having removed those of us who are not against Brexit, not against leaving the European Union, but believe we should do so with a deal.”

He said he believed there is a 95 per cent chance of an EU crash-out if MPs cannot legislate against the event because the Government does not have a “credible plan” for an alternative Brexit deal.

Commons Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg defended the tough line being taken by No 10 against potential rebels. “It is important for the Government to establish [the confidence of] the House of Commons and that this is essentially a confidence matter,” he told LBC Radio. Education Secretary Gavin Williamson also insisted it would be the “right” decision if the whips decided to axe MPs from the party.

“Anyone who is voting against the Government is in the position where they are voting to undermine the Prime Minister’s negotiating hand and they should think very seriously about that and the consequences,” he told ITV’s Good Morning Britain.

But Tory MP Antoinette Sandbach said: “I feel so strongly about this that I’m prepared to put my job on the line for my constituents.” Another senior Tory MP told the Standard: “This play just makes the mutiny stronger as it underlines how mad No 10 has become.”

Former Tory minister Nick Boles, now an independent MP, tweeted: “Johnson truly is Britain’s Trump. There is no institution, no relationship and no international commitment that he is not willing to sacrifice to achieve a no-deal Brexit.”

The pound fell today as investors fretted over the Tory civil war and a potential recession. Sterling, which took a battering last week on the Prime Minister’s push to prorogue Parliament, tumbled nearly one cent against the dollar in early trading. The pound also fell half a cent against the euro.

Mr Stewart also urged colleagues not to “bluff” themselves that the Prime Minister can get major changes to the Brexit agreement. “You could get a fig leaf but you are not going to get a new deal,” he said.

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