Daily Mail - 06.09.2019

Daily Mail, Friday, September 6, 2019 Page 7

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So what DOES he do next?

r

’

s body blow

the party was likely to veto any elec-

tion before October 19 in a bid to force

him to break his own pledges and take

No Deal off the table. No 10 said there

were ‘no circumstances’ in which the

Prime Minister would comply with the

Labour-inspired legislation.

Asked if he could guarantee he would

not go back to the EU for a delay, he

said: ‘Yes I would rather be dead in a

ditch.’ It will fuel speculation he would

rather resign than ask for a Brexit

delay. Aides are now drawing up con-

tingency plans, which could include

him standing down.

Under one proposal, Mr Johnson

would step down on October 18, the

day after a crunch EU summit in Brus-

sels. The Queen would then have little

choice but to send for Mr Corbyn, who

would have to go to Brussels to seek

Feeling faint:

Recruit who

collapsed

(circled).

Inset: Mr

Johnson

turns to see

one you give when you collar someone.’

Boris then had a crack at it himself.

‘You do not have to say anything but if you

do...’ he bumbled before deliberately

getting it all wrong.

‘You all know it, don’t you know it?’ He

asked the young trainees. Cue nervous

giggles. The PM was in danger of resem-

bling a kindergarten teacher addressing a

gang of toddlers. Considering how long

they’d been kept waiting I half hoped one of

them might then leap forward and use the

PM to demonstrate how to perform the

perfect half nelson.

His speech then turned to Brexit. ‘There

are some,’ he said, i.e. Remainer MPs, ‘who

want us to carry on paying £1billion a month

to Brussels.’

The political chat suddenly all felt slightly

inappropriate. It was self-pitying stuff. Boris

was coming across like a patient in therapy,

droning on about his problems. ‘I hate

banging on about Brexit,’ he sighed, before

continuing to do just that for a further

five minutes.

The rookie bobbies just glared on, a

motionless Terracotta Army all in black.

Questions from journalists predictably

focused on brother Jo’s departure.

‘I’m sure what Jo would have wanted was

for our police...’ he said at one point. It was

almost as though he was referring to some-

one who’d passed on.

Someone asked whether he could rule out

seeking a Brexit extension from the EU. ‘I’d

rather be dead in a ditch!’ he cried. Then as

if his week couldn’t get any worse, some

drama at the end. The sun had got a bit

much for one young lassie – not Miss Sun-

burn I should add – who was all but

collapsed, looking particularly woozy.

‘Ah,’ said Boris, his own cheeks flushing

with embarrassment, ‘that might be the

moment to stop.’

And with that the PM scurried away to his

prime ministerial limo to plot his next move

on his increasingly sparse looking chess

board.

Lordy, Lordy what a week he’s had. And

it’s not over yet...

IGNORE THE NO DEAL BILL

DOWNING Street had hoped the legislation would

leave a loophole. But it leaves scant wriggle

room for Boris Johnson.

If a deal has not been achieved by October 19,

the Prime Minister must go to Brussels to try to

extend Brexit by three months, but accept any

extension the EU offers.

It is inconceivable any PM would set a prece-

dent of ignoring a law on the statute book.

PROPOSE A VOTE OF NO CONFIDENCE

IN HIMSELF

On Monday, Mr Johnson will ask for an election

on October 15. But he needs a two-thirds major-

ity to succeed, and Jeremy Corbyn will tell his MPs

to abstain. So could Mr Johnson call a confidence

vote in himself, needing a simple majority?

If passed, it would delay the election for two

weeks while MPs try to replace Mr Johnson. But

by the time of any new national vote on October

29, Brexit would already have been extended.

RESIGN TO FIGHT AN ELECTION

The nuclear option he may have to choose. What

then? He would remain as Tory leader and rec-

ommend his replacement as PM to the Queen.

It’s likely that Mr Corbyn would try to form a

government. An election would follow, fought by

Mr Johnson as leader of the opposition.

the extension. The PM ducked a ques-

tion about the possibility during a

press conference yesterday.

Asked directly if he would resign

rather than ask for a delay, he said: ‘It

will cost a billion pounds a month to

achieve absolutely nothing. What on

earth is the point of further delay? I

think it’s totally, totally pointless.’

Legislation to block No Deal will be

passed in the Lords after the Govern-

ment dropped its bid to stop it.

The measure passed the Commons

on Wednesday, and there had been

talk of it stalling in the Lords due to

an attempt by pro-Brexit peers to

delay it so it runs out of time.

But chief whip Lord Ashton said

that all stages would be completed by

5pm today.

Comment – Page 16

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