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MPs reject Boris Johnson's attempt to fast-track Brexit deal PM fails to restrict scrutiny of bill to just three days in effort to meet 31 October deadlineBoris Johnson’s plan to fast-track his Brexit deal through parliament in time for next week’s 31 October deadline was blocked by MPs on Tuesday night, even after he threatened to pull it and press for a general election.The prime minister said he would speak to EU leaders and urge them not to agree to a prolonged Brexit extension after former Tory cabinet ministers Philip Hammond and Rory Stewart joined with Labour to inflict a humiliating defeat on the government. Continue reading... Go to Source

Labour to back general election once EU approves Brexit delay Testy shadow cabinet meeting fails to support Keir Starmer’s ‘referendum first’ stanceLatest Brexit news – live updatesLabour is ready to vote for a general election as soon as EU27 leaders have signed off on a Brexit extension, despite the desire of some senior party figures to secure a referendum first, the Guardian understands.Labour has twice abstained when the prime minister asked for an election under the terms of the fixed-term parliaments act, which requires a two-thirds majority. Continue reading... Go to Source

Withdrawal bill: How did your MP vote on the timetable motion? MPs have inflicted yet another defeat on Boris Johnson by rejecting his proposal to fast-track the final parliamentary stages of the EU withdrawal bill. Find out how each MP voted. Continue reading... Go to Source

Don't buy the hype: Boris Johnson's Brexit deal did not win approval | Jonathan Freedland MPs have voted for the bill to go forward, but that doesn’t mean they all back it – or that the saga is ending any time soonIt’s not over. For a few anxious, or jubilant - depending on which tribe you belong to – minutes between 7.15pm and 7.30pm, it seemed as if the Brexit saga might just be on the verge of resolution, after three and a half agonisingly long years. The House of Commons voted to allow Boris Johnson’s withdrawal agreement bill to advance to the next stage, a prize that had eluded Theresa May not once, not twice, but three times.What’s more, MPs gave it a green light more emphatically than even the most ardent Brexiters had dared hope. While May had been crushed by triple-figu...

What does Boris Johnson's withdrawal bill actually say? Here’s everything you need to know about the legal framework for the PM’s proposed Brexit dealLatest Brexit news - live updatesIt is here – the legislation setting out the legal framework for Boris Johnson’s proposed Brexit deal. The withdrawal agreement bill, or WAB, is 115 pages long, with an extra 126 pages of explanatory notes. It was published at 8pm on Monday, giving MPs 12 hours to digest details of the most notable constitutional change to the UK’s status in decades before the Commons resumes and they must cast their first votes on it. But what does it say? Continue reading... Go to Source

Johnson threatens to scrap Brexit bill and seek election before Christmas PM faces down MPs pushing for concessions to prevent no deal before agreeing to timetableLatest Brexit news – live updatesBoris Johnson has threatened to pull the Brexit legislation and seek an election rather than accept a three-month delay, but hinted he could live with a very short extension from the EU.Speaking in parliament on Tuesday, the prime minister attempted to stop MPs voting down his timetable for the legislation that gives them only three-days to scrutinise the bill. Continue reading... Go to Source

Brexit: MPs begin debate on withdrawal agreement bill - live news Rolling updates on today’s political developments as prime minister plans to ram his deal through parliament by ThursdayDonald Tusk: EU likely to grant extension requestMinister says MPs opposing bill are trying to thwart BrexitWithdrawal bill: what does Johnson’s version say? 1.29pm BSTBoris Johnson is up to open the debate on the withdrawal agreement bill. (You can watch the live feed at the top of this blog.)The prime minister says he wishes that the house had voted for the deal on Saturday, but that he still has “the utmost respect” for Oliver Letwin, though he disagrees with him. 1.23pm BSTMPs are taking their seats in preparation for the debate on the withdrawal agreement bill. Boris Johnson is set to open the...

More Tories might back PM's Brexit timetable if no-deal loophole closed Loophole would allow UK to crash out on World Trade Organization terms at end of yearLatest Brexit news – live updatesSoft-Brexit Conservatives could back Boris Johnson’s plan to push through his deal in three days if the government agrees to close a loophole that would allow the UK to crash out on World Trade Organization terms at the end of next year.Rory Stewart, one of the 21 Tories who had the whip withdrawn, said he and some of his fellow rebels had been negotiating “through the night” to give parliament more control over the next phase of the Brexit negotiations, including being able to vote for an extension to the talks. Continue reading... Go to Source

Erdoğan threatens to ramp up assault on Kurds in Syria 'safe zone' Turkish leader says he will act ‘even more strongly’ as end of US-brokered ceasefire loomsThe Turkish president has threatened to press ahead with an operation against Kurdish-led forces in Syria “even more strongly” if promises made by the US regarding the withdrawal of Kurdish fighters have not been met by the time a five-day ceasefire expires.Up to 1,300 fighters from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are yet to vacate Ankara’s proposed border “safe zone”, as per the terms of a ceasefire announced by the US vice-president, Mike Pence, in Ankara last week, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told reporters before flying to Russia. Continue reading... Go to Source

Boris Johnson drawn into row over 'unsafe' Hillingdon hospital Hospital in prime minister’s constituency has moved child patients because of subsidenceBoris Johnson has been drawn into a row over the future of his local hospital, parts of which are so dangerous that patients have been moved out of wards to ensure their safety.The prime minister has become involved in a dispute involving NHS chiefs and local MPs over whether Hillingdon hospital in his north-west London constituency should be rebuilt where it stands, when it is knocked down, or on another site. Continue reading... Go to Source

Danish lighthouse put on wheels to move it away from eroding sea Rubjerg Knude used to be 200 metres away from coast before sand shifting and erosionA 120-year-old lighthouse has been put on wheels and rails to move it away from the North Sea, which has been eroding the coastline of north-western Denmark.When the 23-metre (75ft) Rubjerg Knude lighthouse was first lit in 1900, it was roughly 200 metres from the coast; now it is about only six. Continue reading... Go to Source