Boris Johnson urges MPs and Jeremy Corbyn to ‘stop holding this country hostage’ by blocking his wish for an election before Christmas to break Brexit deadlock election
- Boris Johnson says he is worried Parliament will ‘just waste’ a Brexit extension
- The Prime Minister urged MPs to grant his wish for a snap pre-Christmas Election
- A new opinion poll gave the Conservative Party a 16-point lead over Labour
Boris Johnson last night urged MPs to stop ‘holding the country hostage’ and grant his wish for a snap pre-Christmas Election.
The Prime Minister, making his plea ahead of a Commons vote tomorrow on whether to hold a December 12 poll, declared that the current Parliament had ‘run its course’ and should be dissolved.
He told The Mail on Sunday: ‘My worry is this Parliament will just waste the next three months like it’s wasted the last three years. If Parliament cannot agree a way forward, then it is time for a new Parliament – and the only means of doing this is via a General Election.’
The Prime Minister, making his plea ahead of a Commons vote tomorrow on whether to hold a December 12 poll, declared that the current Parliament had ‘run its course’ and should be dissolved
Mr Johnson’s remarks came as a new opinion poll gave the Conservative Party a 16-point lead over Labour – its largest advantage over Jeremy Corbyn since May 2017.
The Opinium survey for The Observer put the Tories on 40 per cent, Labour on 24 and the Liberal Democrats on 15 per cent.
Mr Johnson is expected to lose tomorrow’s Election vote since opposition MPs are saying they will block such a move until No Deal is ruled out – but No 10 says it will put down similar motions until it wins the day.
![](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/10/26/22/20227080-0-image-a-59_1572125740578.jpg)
Mr Corbyn has infuriated his MPs by vacillating about whether to comply with Mr Johnson’s Election pleas. Many worry that a Tory party spurred on by voter frustration over Brexit would lead to a heavy defeat for Labour in a December poll
To add to the pressure, the Conservatives are this weekend launching a social media campaign with the aim of encouraging voters to email their MPs to push for a chance to go to the polls.
![](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/10/27/00/20227118-7617495-image-a-1_1572131500016.jpg)
Mr Johnson is expected to lose tomorrow’s Election vote since opposition MPs are saying they will block such a move until No Deal is ruled out – but No 10 says it will put down similar motions until it wins the day
Meanwhile, and in an attempt to ‘call the bluff’ of Election-blocking MPs, No 10 strategists said they were considering announcing that No Deal was ‘off the table’ on the grounds that Mr Johnson has in fact secured a deal with Brussels.
In another development, DUP leader Arlene Foster warned the Prime Minister that her MPs will continue to reject his deal unless he secures further concessions from Brussels.
Addressing her party conference in Belfast yesterday, Ms Foster said that the DUP had put Mr Johnson on the ‘naughty step’ by voting against his Government twice in the last week because the measures in the new deal for regulatory and customs borders between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK would take Northern Ireland in the ‘wrong direction’.
For his part, Mr Corbyn has infuriated his MPs by vacillating about whether to comply with Mr Johnson’s Election pleas.
![Mr Johnson’s remarks came as a new opinion poll gave the Conservative Party a 16-point lead over Labour – its largest advantage over Jeremy Corbyn since May 2017. The Opinium survey for The Observer put the Tories on 40 per cent, Labour on 24 and the Liberal Democrats on 15 per cent](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/10/26/22/20226886-7617495-image-a-40_1572125184534.jpg)
Mr Johnson’s remarks came as a new opinion poll gave the Conservative Party a 16-point lead over Labour – its largest advantage over Jeremy Corbyn since May 2017. The Opinium survey for The Observer put the Tories on 40 per cent, Labour on 24 and the Liberal Democrats on 15 per cent
Many worry that a Tory party spurred on by voter frustration over Brexit would lead to a heavy defeat for Labour in a December poll. And as The Mail on Sunday reports today, a group of Mr Corbyn’s MPs is mobilising to try to topple him.
Yesterday, he claimed that Labour would be very happy to fight a General Election once ‘all vestiges’ of a No Deal Brexit had been taken off the table.
He also called on Mr Johnson to stop using ‘ridiculous language’ after he urged Mr Corbyn to ‘man up’ and back a December 12 poll.
Officials at Tory HQ say they are ready to go to the polls, with many campaign managers already in place across the country and associated literature going out this week.
Stressing that Labour ‘must agree to an Election on December 12,’ Mr Johnson added: ‘If they refuse this timetable – if they refuse to go the extra mile to complete Brexit, I will have no choice but to conclude that they are not really sincere in their desire to get Brexit done.
‘If they do not accept this offer, I will continue to campaign for an Election and show the people in this country the stark choice before them: a Conservative Government that will get Brexit done, deliver on their priorities and unite the country, or a Labour Party that will snarl us in further toxic debate and more delay.
‘Parliament cannot hold the country hostage any longer. Millions of businesses and people cannot plan their futures.
‘This paralysis is causing real damage.’
![Addressing her party conference in Belfast yesterday, Ms Foster said that the DUP had put Mr Johnson on the ‘naughty step’ by voting against his Government twice in the last week because the measures in the new deal for regulatory and customs borders between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK would take Northern Ireland in the ‘wrong direction’](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/10/26/22/20226924-7617495-image-a-41_1572125242557.jpg)
Addressing her party conference in Belfast yesterday, Ms Foster said that the DUP had put Mr Johnson on the ‘naughty step’ by voting against his Government twice in the last week because the measures in the new deal for regulatory and customs borders between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK would take Northern Ireland in the ‘wrong direction’