Boris Johnson has said he is prepared for a “tough” general election battle after MPs voted overwhelmingly in favour of holding a pre-Christmas poll.
The prime minister last night warned Tory MPs against complacency despite the party’s commanding lead over Labour in most opinion polls.
He is aiming to restore the party’s Commons majority lost by Theresa May in 2017 so he can end three years of deadlock and get his Brexit deal through Parliament.
However, his failure to deliver Brexit by October 31 means the election could prove to be a gamble, with the Tories at risk of losing key Leave-voting seats to the Brexit Party.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the poll offered a “once-in-a-generation” chance to transform the country, while the Lib Dems are confident of picking up seats in key Remain-backing areas.
Good morning and welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of events at Westminster.
PM prepares Tory troops for ‘tough’ election on 12 December
Boris Johnson has said he is prepared for a “tough” general election battle after MPs cleared the way for the first December poll in almost a century.
Following his Commons victory on Tuesday, the PM sought to rally Tory MPs telling them it was time to “get Brexit done”.
The one-page Bill enabling the election to be held on December 12 passed the Commons by 438 votes to 20, and now goes to the House of Lords, but it is unlikely to be held up in the unelected upper chamber.
Once it receives the royal assent, it will pave the way for Parliament to be dissolved on 6 November marking the start of the campaign in earnest.
General election will happen in December
Vote paves the way for parliament to be dissolved on 6 NovemberTory nerves at pre-Christmas election gamble
Although Boris Johnson reportedly delivered a rousing performance at last night’s 1922 committee of Tory backbenchers, some in the party are worried the election gamble could still backfire.
“It’s like a can of paint. Once it’s open, it’s going to splatter everywhere. No one really knows how it’s going to turn out,” one Conservative MP told the FT.
According to The Times, some cabinet ministers have admitted to anxieties about the outcome.
Plenty of backbenchers shared their fears in the Commons on Tuesday. Simon Hoare asked how he was supposed to tell constituents about the “rigmarole” of a December election, while Damian Green suggested getting on with the withdrawal agreement bill would have been the “sensible course of action”.
In a possible sign of concerns he could lose some Remain-backing Tory voters, Johnson restored the whip to 10 of the 21 rebels he expelled last month.
Some are still worried about the threat of Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party could take enough votes in Leave-supporting areas to deny them crucial seats.
PM’s Brexit deal swipes £1,100 a year from our pockets, report says
Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal would take £1,100 from every person in the country every year, according to new economic analysis.
The annual loss from pulling out of the EU – around £70bn a year – would be the equivalent of the entire output of Wales.
The damage would be so great that the UK would be better off continuing with the huge uncertainty from the ongoing Brexit crisis, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research said.
Our deputy political editor has all the details.
Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal would swipe £1,100 from every person in the country a year, devastating economic analysis says
'This corresponds to roughly the size of Wales’s economic output – or £70bn a year'Jo Swinson says she wants to be PM – and her party could take ‘hundreds of seats’ with small poll swing
Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson said her party’s “stop Brexit” message continues to resonate with Remainers. “People recognise our consistency and standing up for what we believe in,” she told the Today programme.
She added: “I don’t think that the choice that we are being offered between Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn is anywhere near good enough.
“Neither of those men are fit to lead our country and be prime minister. And I know there are millions of people out there who are longing for a positive alternative that is looking to the future."
She said polling shows they are “within a small swing” of winning “hundreds of seats”.
Asked if she was ruling out supporting either Boris Johnson or Jeremy Corbyn as prime minister, Swinson said: “I can’t be clearer … Our country deserves a better choice, and I am standing as candidate to be prime minister.”
Asked if she would be prepared to enter into some kind of informal deal with the Tories or Labour without those two men at the helm, she said they are parties that want to “force through Brexit on our country”.
She added: “It’s going to be bad for our country. And they both have that shared vision for the future. The Liberal Democrats have a different positive alternative vision for the future.”
Dominic Grieve will run against a Tory candidate
Former attorney general Dominic Grieve, who is among 11 rebel MPs who have not had the Conservative whip restored, said he assumes the Tories will put a candidate up against him in his constituency of Beaconsfield.
He told the Today programme: “I will run as an independent. I’ve made that decision. I have no idea what the outcome will be.
“Logically, I probably ought to lose. It’s a very safe Conservative seat. And if normal loyalties prevail then a Conservative candidate will be elected against me.
“But I think my constituents are entitled to a choice.”
He also warned of the danger if Boris Johnson wins a majority and forces through his Brexit deal.
John McDonnell claims Labour can win majority
Shadow chancellor John McDonnell has said the Lib Dems “went into coalition with the Tories basically and the SNP jumped ship”.
Talking about Labour’s election chances, he told the Today programme: “We’re going to have a real go at this and I think we’ll win.
“I think we’ll have a majority government by Christmas, so I can’t think of a better Christmas present basically.”
McDonnell also hailed Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn as “one of the best campaigners I’ve ever seen”.
Asked what Labour would tell voters on the campaign trail about whether the party is pro-Leave or pro-Remain, said: “We’re saying let the people decide.”
On the possibility of deciding to go forward as an overtly pro-Remain party, McDonnell told the Today programme: “We’re a much more democratic party than that.”
He said there will be “a range of views” in Labour, “like every political party”, adding: “The basic principle for us, not like the Lib Dems who are just saying ‘we’re just going to revoke, that’s it’, not like the Tories who are saying ‘we’re going to foist upon you virtually a no deal to damage the economy’, we’re saying - democracy, let the people decide.”
He later repeatedly refused to say whether Corbyn will stand down if defeated, telling Sky News: “We’re going to win.”
Tory rebel denies ‘sucking up’ to PM to get whip back
Ed Vaizey, who is among 11 Tory MPs readmitted to the parliamentary party, was asked what he had to do to be welcomed back.
“Well the way I put it is, I had an argument with the prime minister about no deal, and I voted against him to try and get no deal off the table,” he told the Today programme.
“But I have voted with the government ever since."
He said this was not a case of him “sucking up to the prime minister and trying to get the whip back”, but because he did not have arguments with him about his deal or timetable for his deal.
“So I suspect that is why I’ve got the whip back and others haven’t,” he said.
Dominic Grieve says pro-EU group will advise on tactical voting
The former attorney general Dominic Grieve has been on Sky News claiming the December election is likely “to be dominated by Brexit”. He highlighted a point made by many, that we are now “ploughing into an election that’s unpredictable”.
He added the organisation he works for, the pro-EU group Best for Britain, will identify MPs that are pro-second referendum. It will eventually produce a guide on “who to vote for” if you want Brexit to go back to the public.
There will be plenty more on that later when Best for Britain holds a briefing.
Grieve, who lost the Tory whip last month, also claimed Boris Johnson’s leadership has been “horrific” and described the suspension of parliament as a “scandal”.
It seems certain he will not have the Conservative whip restored, unlike 11 of his colleagues did last night.
Tories must target ‘rugby league towns’, think tank claims
Politicos love to come up with the perfect, mythical demographic stereotypes for parties to chase. Remember “Mondeo man”?
This time the Tories have been told to focus on burly blokes in “rugby league towns” in the north of England.
The right-of-centre think tank Onward has told the party they must win over “Workington man” – white guys without degrees in traditionally Labour-voting places like Halifax, Oldham, St Helens and Warrington.
In 1996, “Mondeo man” was singled out for Labour after then-leader Tony Blair recalled canvassing with a voter with a particular type of car. “Worcester woman” was also targeted by Mr Blair’s campaign during the 1997 election as a working-class mother who traditionally voted Tory.
Next came the “Pebbledash people” for the Conservatives in 2001 - middle-aged professional couples who live in semi-detached, often pebble-dashed homes in the suburbs.
In 2003, former cabinet minister Stephen Byers urged Labour to reach out to the “Bacardi Breezer generation” of alienated 18 to 25-year-olds. Both “Holby City Woman” and “Motorway man” were used in the 2010 election.
Spare us from any more of these, please.
Matt Hancock claims NHS is ‘off the table’ to Donald Trump
Health secretary Matt Hancock has been asked whether the price of medicines used in the NHS would be on or off the table in a future, post-Brexit trade agreement with Donald Trump. He said: “It is off the table.”
Pressed on why drug pricing has been reportedly mentioned between British and American trade officials, Hancock told Today: “It is off the table. There has been no agreement and no formal meetings. There is no mandate for how these trade talks will happen.”
He added that it is “against the government’s policy to make any changes to drug pricing”.
Hancock was asked if he would like to apologise on behalf of the Conservative party for breaking their “do or die” promise that Brexit would take place on 31 October.
“No – because it’s parliament that’s blocked delivering Brexit,” he said.
He also claimed said the Tories were offering people a “positive, optimistic, one-nation agenda” which he thinks can bring the country together.
Hancock repeated his promise about the NHS and Donald Trump when he later appeared on Sky News, saying: “The NHS is off the table in any trade talks.”
Tory MP Patrick McLoughlin standing down at election
The Conservative MP Patrick McLoughlin, in the Commons since 1986 and a former transport minister, says he won’t be seeking re-election in December.
BREAKING: Amber Rudd will not stand at December election
Some discussion this morning about whether Amber Rudd could come back into the Tory fold with 11 other MPs. But she has now confirmed she will not be standing at the next election.
Tories worried about knocking on doors at Christmas
More nervousness ahead of the election campaign? According to one Conservative who has spoken to Sky News’ Sam Coates, few colleagues are “certain” the pre-Christmas poll is a good idea.
But the concerns about campaigning at this time of year are not unique to the Tories. One Labour said they are “quite worried if anyone will want to deliver any leaflets”.
Tories ‘not ready’ to publish social care plan, says health secretary
The Conservative general election manifesto may not contain firm proposals to solve the social care crisis, the health secretary has admitted.
Matt Hancock said his party was “working on a plan” – after the controversy derailed Theresa May’s campaign in 2017 – but added: “We are not ready to publish it yet.”
Our deputy political editor has more.
Tories still to decide on approach to social care crisis that ruined Theresa May's election campaign, health secretary admits
Matt Hancock will not commit to a cap on bills, saying: 'I’m not going to get into the details of it'At least 50 MPs standing down at 2019 general election
After Amber Rudd’s big news about standing down, there are now at least 50 current MPs who won’t be seeking re-election in December. It’s a remarkable number. And we could be in store for more in the days ahead.
Gavin Freeguard of the Institute for Government has been keeping a running total. He posted this before the Rudd and Patrick McLoughlin announcements.
Tactical voting by Remainers could deny Johnson victory
Boris Johnson is on course to win a Commons majority of 44 unless Remain voters work tactically to block a Tory victory and ensure an EU-backing leadership, according to a study by the Best for Britain campaign.
Our political correspondent Lizzy Buchan is at the Best for Britain event this morning, and will have more details soon. But the research suggests there is still all to play for.
If less than a third of pro-Remain voters – 30 per cent – used their vote tactically they could swing the election and secure a Remain majority of four. The seat-by-seat analysis also shows that if 40 per cent of pro-Remain voters worked tactically then they could return a majority of 36.
Heseltine says Corbyn cannot become prime minister
Plenty of talk already about whether any coalitions are possible if there’s a hung parliament after the 12 December poll.
Former deputy PM Michael Heseltine, who very recently predicted that the Tories would not get a majority, has said this morning that Labour will not be in a position to form a government whatever happens.
“The idea of Jeremy Corbyn becoming prime minister is unacceptable, but he’s not going to be prime minister. There’s no way he can come from where he is in the polls to become prime minister.”
Asked about a “rainbow coalition” made up of Labour, Lib Dems and the SNP, Heseltine said: “The Lib Dems were badly bitten by their association with the Conservatives in coalition.”
“They’re not going to shack up with Jeremy Corbyn with the sort of things he’s said to believe. There’s just no way they’re going to do.”
Former MI5 chief says ‘hard to see security upside’ of Brexit
Lord Jonathan Evans, former director general of MI5 from 2007 to 2013, has told an event hosted by the Policy Exchange think tank that it is “hard to see any security upside” after Brexit.
He was part of a panel in London on Wednesday discussing how crime and security strategies could be affected after Brexit.
Security minister Brandon Lewis told the audience the prime minister’s deal means the government has a “really ambitious programme to have a really strong relationship around security” with Europe after Brexit.
But Lord Alan West, head of the Royal Navy from 2002 to 2006 and security minister from 2007 to 2010, said: “If we stay in or come out, it’s not going to make that much difference to our security.”
Sturgeon will interpret SNP win in Scotland as ‘unequivocal’ demand for indyref2
Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon has claimed an election victory for the SNP north of the border would be an “unequivocal and irresistible demand” for a second vote on independence.
Campaigning in Stirling – a seat the SNP hope to seize from the Tories – Sturgeon insisted: “Westminster is broken. It’s time to take Scotland’s future into Scotland's hands.
“The number one issue for Scotland at the election is this: who should determine our future – Boris Johnson or the people who live here?”
Sturgeon added: “A general election is Scotland’s chance to come together to reaffirm our opposition to Brexit and our right to decide.
“Labour can’t win in Scotland. The Liberal Democrats can’t be trusted – they’ve put a right-wing Tory government into power before. Scotland has been ignored and treated with contempt by Westminster, and this election is an opportunity to bring that to an end.
“A win for the SNP will be an unequivocal and irresistible demand for Scotland’s right to choose our own future.”
