Daily Mirror - 06.09.2019

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used for a “political speech about

Brexit”. And Shadow Police Minister

Louise Haigh wrote to the UK’s top civil

servant to protest about the use of

police at a political event.

In a letter to the Cabinet Office she

wrote that the officers were “put in an

intolerable position by the nakedly

party-political direction the event took”.

On Twitter she added: “Police

officers used as props for

naked electioneering after

voting to cut thousands of

their colleagues. This is

contemptible.”

At the chaotic event, Mr

Johnson claimed he would

recruit 20,000 extra police but

it has emerged that as many as

7,000 would be allocated away

from frontline roles.

The Tories have cut more

than 28,000 officers and

PCSOs since 2010.

[email protected]

@PippaCrerar

Home Secretary Diane Abbott said:

“Johnson kept trainees waiting. Unsur-

prisingly one appears to have felt faint.

“He saw it happen and he ignored it.

Tells you everything you need to know

about this man and how much he really

cares about the police service.”

West Yorkshire Police and Crime

Com missioner Mark Burns-Williamson

said his officers should not have been

blocking Brexit. However, there were

early signs last night that Mr Corbyn,

who had wanted an election as soon as

possible, could be persuaded by allies,

including Shadow Chancellor John

McDonnell and Shadow Brexit

Secretary Keir Starmer, to delay.

Mr McDonnell told the BBC: “We are

consulting about whether to go long or

to go short.”

Downing Street aides were

desperately scrabbling around

for other mechanisms to force

an early election.

But even tabling a one-line

bill that would require a

simple majority of MPs to

back it carries risks.

Labour could then amend

the legislation to reduce the

voting age to 16 – boosting its

support base – or impose a

cap on electoral spending.

The PM’s behaviour at the

police college yesterday was

greeted with anger. Shadow

does not get permission for a poll before

next week’s suspension, there cannot be

an election before October 31. That’s the

very day Mr Johnson says he intends to

take us out of the EU, despite MPs

voting to make that illegal.

The Tories hope opposition parties

will vote for an election once the bill

blocking a no-deal Brexit is in law.

But Labour remained locked in talks

over whether to back a poll as early as

next week or to wait and let the PM

“stew in his own juices”. This could

deliver a potentially fatal blow to the PM

who has made delivering Brexit by

October 31 “do or die” his key mission.

Most Labour MPs, including many in

the Shadow Cabinet, believe waiting

until the anti no-deal bill is imple-

mented, and a three-month Brexit

extension secure, is the only way to

guarantee we do not crash out.

But some senior Labour figures

believe it would be easier to fight an

election against no-deal than to delay

and be accused on the campaign trail of

now is if he holds a general

election before October 31st.

What about Corbyn?

The Labour leader has spent

the past two years calling for

another election. Yet he told

his MPs to vote

against one this

week. That

doesn’t mean

he’s gone off the

idea – allies have

persuaded him

delaying the poll

beyond October

is the only way to

ensure no-deal is

off the table.

Can the Government get

one anyway?

They will try. Ministers tabled

another vote for Monday but

need two-thirds of MPs to

back it. They are running out

of time after the PM decided

to suspend Parliament by

next Thursday. No10 could

table a simple bill that would

only need a majority of MPs

to back it – but Labour could

amend it. The PM could also

hope for a no-confidence

vote but even that would not

deliver an election in time.

What do other parties want?

The Lib Dems are fully signed

up to the plan to delay an

election beyond October.

The SNP have been more

reluctant to commit. Leader

Nicola Sturgeon blasted

Jeremy Corbyn for dragging

his heels. But the SNP voted

against the election on

Wednesday – and at their

Westminster group meeting

MPs agreed they had to

persuade the leadership to

oppose it next week too.

Who would win an election?

Labour and Tory chiefs both

seem confident of a win.

Backbenchers on all sides,

however, are not so confident

and experts warn we could

have a Parliament more hung

than ever. The main

beneficiaries of a pre-Brexit

poll appear to be the Brexit

Party and Lib Dems.

Does PM want an election?

Despite repeatedly insisting

he doesn’t want one, fighting

a snap election is clearly a

key part of Downing Street’s

plan to deliver Brexit by

October 31, come what may.

As the PM has found,

trying to drive through his

Brexit plans is impossible

without a Commons majority.

After sacking 21 rebel MPs,

he has a minority of 43. The

only way to get a majority

WHY THE LONG FACE, BORIS?

PM at police college yesterday

PM speaks an hour late as

cadets left to stand in sun

His attention is attracted to the

struggling woman behind him

He ignores the fact she is now

GOING ON GOING GONE on floor and continues speech

PM sees girl

cadet collapse

PA S S

OUT

OF HORRORS FOR BUNGLING PM

I’d rather be

dead in a

ditch than

ask the EU

for another

extension

UNDER-FIRE PM IN

YORKSHIRE YESTERDAY

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BREXIT

DAYS TO GO

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