Daily Mail, Wednesday, August 7, 2019 Page 11What will happen when
MPs return in September?
Tory rebels led by Dominic Grieve will try
to stop No Deal with the help of Labour.
They may try to pass a law forcing Boris
Johnson to extend Article 50, but if not,
their nuclear option is to use a vote of no
confidence to try to bring down his gov-
ernment, which has a majority of one.What if Mr Johnson loses a
confidence vote?
Under the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act,
there is a 14-day cooling-off period. If
the Prime Minister wins the confidence
of MPs during this period, he can stay in
office. Otherwise there is a general elec-
tion. Mr Grieve thinks he can use the 14
days to set up a temporary government
of national unity and win the confidence
of the Commons. But constitutional
experts are unclear on whether Mr
Johnson has to resign if this succeeds.What is a national unity
government?
Previously used during wartime and in
the Great Depression, it is a cross-party
alliance of MPs who take over in a crisis.
An MP, probably a Labour backbencher,
would win a confidence vote and enter
No10 temporarily simply to extend Arti-
cle 50 and stop No Deal. They would then
step down so an election can take place
soon after. Critics claim it would be a
government of ‘Remain unity’.Must Boris Johnson quit?
Publicly, No10 is not commenting on
‘hypothetical’ situations. But Mr John-
son’s senior advisor, Dominic Cummings,privately says it is laughable that the
Prime Minister would quit after losing a
confidence vote, suggesting he would
hold out for the 14-day period. By run-
ning down the clock for two weeks, he
could use his prerogative powers to set
a date for a general election after Octo-
ber 31, thus forcing No Deal through.How could the Queen
become involved?
Mr Grieve denies that Mr Johnson could
refuse to quit. He argues that if MPs have
nominated a new PM who has the confi-
dence of the Commons, Mr Johnson
would have to go. But because the law is
unclear and constitutional convention is
not legally binding, Mr Johnson could in
theory ignore them. Catherine Haddon,
a senior fellow at the Institute for Gov-
ernment, says only ‘political pressure’
and not law could force him out. Mr
Grieve says, the Queen, as the ‘ultimate
guardian of our constitution’, should
sack him and install a new PM.When would an election
take place?
At the end of the 14-day cooling-off an
election must be called. The legal mini-
mum is that it must take place within 25
working days. But there is no maximum,
allowing Mr Johnson to go long and set
it for after October 31 when Brexit will
have happened automatically.Q&A
By Jack Doyle
and David ChurchillMICHAEL Gove ignited a furious
row with EU leaders last night by
accusing them of refusing to
negotiate a new Brexit deal.
The senior Cabinet minister said he
was ‘deeply saddened’ that Brussels
would not consider an agreement
that did not include the controversial
Northern Ireland backstop.
It came as rebel Tory MPs said they
would urge the Queen to sack Boris
Johnson if he defied calls to make way for
a new prime minister after the loss of any
confidence vote.
They are furious at the suggestion that
he might try to cling on at No10 if MPs
opposed to No Deal join forces and vote
to show he does not have their support.
The rebels believe he cannot stand in
the way of a ‘unity government’ of Labour,
the Lib Dems and SNP backed by a
majority in the Commons.
Former attorney general Dominic
Grieve, who is leading efforts to prevent
No Deal, described the idea of Mr John-
son clinging on as ‘breathtaking, stupid
and infantile’. He said it was an ‘utterto bed with SNP
Gove says EU is refusing to
negotiate – as Tory rebels
threaten to drag in the Queen
BREXIT DEADLOCK
and could stay to ensure any
election was held after Brexit
on October 31, preventing
attempts to scupper No Deal.
Mr Grieve said: ‘A prime min-
ister defeated in a motion of no
confidence cannot sit out the 14
days and prevent a new govern-
ment being formed if it has the
support of the Commons.
‘If he were to refuse to resign
to allow that to happen... the
Queen would have to sack him.
She is the ultimate guardian of
our constitution. That’s her job.
Unless you want to tear up the
constitution we shouldn’t go
down the route advocated by
Boris Johnson.’ However, MrGove, who has been given
responsibility for No Deal prep-
arations, said ministers were
‘ready to negotiate in good faith’
with the EU to create a new
deal, but the bloc seemed to be
‘refusing to negotiate’.
He said a ‘new approach’ was
needed to get an agreement
through the Commons.
His comments were rebuffed
by Irish Prime Minister Leo Var-adkar, who said that although
there was scope for talks, the
Withdrawal Agreement negoti-
ated by Theresa May – includ-
ing the backstop – was ‘closed’.
Their comments exposed the
entrenched positions on both
sides, with Mr Johnson insisting
the EU must ditch the ‘anti-
democratic’ Irish backstop
before progress can be made.
He has declared that the UKwill leave on October 31 ‘what-
ever the circumstances’.
EU leaders are refusing to
budge, however, saying the
backstop cannot be changed.
Allies of the Prime Minister
believe the EU will not make
any concessions until the last
minute and only when opposi-
tion MPs have moved to block a
No Deal departure.
However, Mr Gove’s language
suggests the Government is
ready to blame intransigence
from Brussels if a compromise
does not materialise and Brit-
ain leaves without a deal.
Comment – Page 16‘Breathtaking, stupid
and infantile’PAGE
PETER OBORNE^16
fantasy’ that Mr Johnson could prevent a
new government being formed – and sug-
gested the Queen would have to inter-
vene to prevent a constitutional crisis.
Under the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act
there is a 14-day period after the loss of a
confidence vote. If no one else gains the
confidence of the Commons during this
time there is a general election.
But some believe Mr Johnson has no
legal obligation to quit as Prime Minister,РЕЛИЗ ПОДГОТОВИЛА ГРУППА "What's News" VK.COM/WSNWSSLIP