It’s too late to stop No Deal Brexit, says Dominic Cummings: Boris’s top aide warns MPs that even a no-confidence vote would not halt October 31 exit and claims an election would lead to a Tory majority
- Dominic Cummings claimed No-Deal Brexit could not be stopped by Parliament
- He said that it is ‘too late’ to force an election to stop a No-Deal Brexit on Oct 31
- Remainers could call a no-confident vote against Boris Johnson to force election
- However, Mr Cummings said Mr Johnson could delay election until after Brexit
Boris Johnson’s most senior aide says it is ‘too late’ to stop a No-Deal Brexit because the Prime Minister could delay a general election forced by a no-confidence vote until after October 31.
Dominic Cummings claimed in a series of briefings to civil servants last week that it was too late for Remainer MPs to force Mr Johnson out and stop Brexit from happening.
If Mr Johnson lost a no-confidence vote, a general election would be triggered, which could see Jeremy Corbyn win and kill a No-Deal Brexit.
However, Mr Cummings said Remainers had waited too long to trigger the election and the Prime Minister could now delay it until after October 31.
He even insisted that the Tories would win a majority if a general election was called.
The Prime Minister has pledged that Britain will leave the EU on October 31, ‘deal or no deal’.
Dominic Cummings claimed in a series of briefings to civil servants that it is too late to stop a No-Deal Brexit
Mr Cumming’s set out the government’s Brexit strategy through a series of briefings to civil servants and ministers.
He revealed how the Prime Minister intended to leave the EU on October 31 – even if the EU refuses to drop the Irish border backstop.
According to the Sunday Telegraph, Mr Cummings also claimed that EU leaders like Emmanuel Macron think the no-deal threat ‘is a bluff’.
He said: ‘They don’t realise that if there is a no-confidence vote in September or October, we’ll call an election for after the 31st and leave anyway.’
The Prime Minister’s chief Brexit adviser has told staff to prepare for a no-deal Brexit, as he think EU leaders won’t realise Mr Johnson isn’t bluffing ‘until October’.
A source familiar with the meetings Mr Cummings held claimed that they made him less worried about the impact of a no-deal Brexit.
Mr Cummings seemed to be indicating that the Prime Minister is confident he can deliver on his promise to take Britain out of the EU by October 31.
It also suggests he is willing to keep his vow and deliver Brexit by ‘any means necessary’.
Mr Cummings revealed that the Prime Minister intended to leave the EU on October 31 – even if the EU refuses to drop the Irish border backstop
Mr Cummings said Remainers and Jeremy Corbyn had waited too long to trigger the election and the Prime Minister could now delay it until after October 31
The revelations come as Boris Johnson dramatically ramped up his war of words with Brussels by demanding that EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier reopens the Brexit deal – because he no longer has the authority to impose terms on the UK.
As part of a new ‘shock and awe’ plan by Downing Street to put the EU on the back foot, Mr Johnson’s Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay warned that Mr Barnier should be given new negotiating orders by the EU or face the inevitability of No Deal.
In a hard-hitting article for today’s Mail on Sunday, Mr Barclay argues that the European elections in May reconstituted the EU – meaning Mr Barnier’s mandate to insist on the harsh terms of the Withdrawal Agreement is no longer valid.
Mr Johnson is embroiled in a high-stakes, last-ditch effort to persuade Mr Barnier to drop the controversial Northern Irish backstop from the agreement in time to pass the measure through the Commons – a process he refers to as a ‘backstopectomy’.
Theresa May’s failure to pass her deal in the face of trenchant opposition from MPs to the backstop led to the fall of her Government.
Mr Johnson will today announce a £1.8 billion funding injection for the NHS to deliver on his controversial promise during the 2016 referendum to give the Health Service a Brexit boost.