A defiant Boris Johnson will use this weekend’s Tory conference in Manchester to double down on his “people v parliament” rhetoric, after a tumultuous week in which he was accused of dangerously inflaming political tensions.
Downing Street insiders insist they have not been blown off course by the furious condemnation of Johnson’s repeated use of the phrase “surrender bill” to describe the backbench Benn Act.
Instead, they claim they will use party conference to drive home their “Get Brexit Done” slogan, launch a string of manifesto-friendly policies – and attack Jeremy Corbyn as too weak to lead Britain.
Johnson’s unapologetic stance comes after Amber Rudd joined the chorus of condemnation against his aggressive use of language, saying she was “disappointed and stunned”, and warning it could incite violence against opponents.
The prime minister still hopes to press ahead with somehow securing a Brexit deal in the brief window remaining before the 17 October European Council – and push it through parliament, against the backdrop of political turmoil.
Despite the horror with which many Labour MPs greeted Johnson’s bellicose performance in the Commons on Wednesday, No 10 still believes there will be intense pressure on those MPs who represent leave constituencies to support a deal.
“If we came back with a deal, I think there would be real political pressure to really push through: if you’re in a Brexit seat, do you really want to go into an election having rejected Brexit?” the government source said.
Meanwhile, Johnson will try and use his conference platform to attack parliament for attempting to thwart his negotiating strategy – and switch the focus back to domestic policy announcements, including on the NHS, law and order and the cost of living.
Internal polling is telling the Tories that the prime minister is now more trusted than Corbyn on the NHS, and the Labour leader is regarded as weak – a message they plan to hammer home ruthlessly in the weeks ahead.
They believe Johnson would perform well in head-to-head debates with Corbyn, despite their one clash at prime minister’s questions being widely regarded as a win for the Labour leader. “We’ll be cock a hoop,” said the government source. “We’ll have 10 a day, stick them in.”
Theresa May also hoped to capitalise on questions about Corbyn’s leadership during the 2017 general election campaign, at one point warning he would go “naked into the negotiating chamber” for Brexit talks. But the electorate responded by stripping the Tories of their majority.
Labour strategists are battling to find the best way of burnishing Corbyn’s anti-establishment credentials, as Johnson tries to paint himself as the champion of the people against scheming MPs. They say the slogan “people v privilege”, trailed at Labour conference in Brighton, strikes a chord with voters in focus groups.
Rudd, who quit the government and resigned the Conservative whip earlier this month in protest at the prime minister’s policies, also told the Evening Standard that she might stand in London as an “independent Conservative” at the next general election.
Amid bitter complaints about Johnson’s use of words such as “surrender” and “betrayal” over Brexit, and his subsequent refusal to apologise, Rudd said she had been “disappointed and stunned” when the PM dismissed the fears of female MPs about a possible repeat of the 2016 murder of Jo Cox.
Asked about the Downing Street approach of couching Brexit as a battle between the people and a remain-minded parliament, Rudd said: “The sort of language I’m afraid we’ve seen more and more of coming out from No 10 does incite violence. It’s the sort of language people think legitimises a more aggressive approach and sometimes violence.”
Comparing Johnson’s approach to that of Donald Trump during the 2016 US presidential election, Rudd said “the casual approach to safety of MPs and their staff [was] immoral”, and urged ministers to “consider their own judgments rather than be desperately loyal”.
Rudd is not planning to attend conference; but some of the other 21 rebels who had the whip removed for voting for the Benn Act do plan to attend, including former justice secretary David Gauke.
The House of Commons voted against granting the government a three-day break so that conference could be held; but Johnson plans to press ahead, leaving one junior “duty minister” for each department behind in London.
He is expected to deliver his set-piece conference speech as planned on Wednesday, leaving Dominic Raab to stand in for prime minister’s questions back in London.
Meanwhile opposition MPs hoping to thwart Boris Johnson’s Brexit strategy will spend next week working on a fresh anti no-deal action plan.
If the prime minister breaks the terms of the Benn Act, which compels him to ask for an extension to Article 50 if he can’t get a Brexit deal, they want to be able to implement a plan “within minutes”.
The legislation, spearheaded by Labour MP Hilary Benn, and backed by Labour and rebel ex-Tories including former chancellor Phillip Hammond, demands that the prime minister ask Brussels for an extension to the Brexit process by 19 October if he has not brokered a new agreement.
However, they insist they will not seek to wreck the Tory conference by attempting to take over the order paper, or table new laws and emergency debates.
(September 3, 2019)
In the first vote Johnson faces as prime minister, 21 rebel Tory MPs vote with the opposition to seize control of the order paper to allow a debate on a bill that would block a no-deal Brexit.
(September 4, 2019)
Against Johnson's wishes, the Commons passes by 329 votes to 300 the second reading of the European Union (withdrawal) (No 6) bill proposed by Hilary Benn.
(September 4, 2019)
Later the same day the Benn bill passes the third and final reading needed to become law, this time by 327 to 299 votes.
(September 4, 2019)
Johnson responds by attempting to force an early general election. The 298 MPs who support him are short of the two-thirds majority required by the Fixed-term Parliaments Act, making it a third defeat in a single day for the government.
(September 9, 2019)
Dominic Grieve's bid to force the government to release documents related to the Operation Yellowhammer no-deal planning and on the decision to prorogue parliament defeats Johnson by 311 to 302.
(September 9, 2019)
Johnson's second call for an early general election is supported by 293 MPs, still short of the two-thirds majority required. Parliament is prorogued and MPs briefly occupy the chamber after the session is closed.
(September 24, 2019)
The supreme court rules that Johnson's closure of parliament was unlawful and that MPs must return.
(September 26, 2019)
In the first vote in the reconvened House of Commons, MPs vote by 306 to 289 against a three-day recess to allow Conservative MPs to attend their party conference.
Instead, they are expected to pepper ministers with a host of urgent questions instead. A source close to the rebels said: “Next week is all about planning scenarios for if Boris Johnson breaks the law.”
“It’s going to be the cross-party group meeting to work out what action could be taken in the event Johnson does break the law.”
They said this could involve legislation but have also not ruled out another confidence vote in the Prime Minister, that could in theory trigger a general election.
Meetings among the group of politicians working to stop no-deal, including Labour’s shadow Brexit Secretary, Sir Keir Starmer, the then Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster David Lidington and former chancellor Philip Hammond, representatives of the Liberal Democrats and SNP took place as early as June.
