Speaker John Bercow holds covert talks with MPs plotting to stop a no-deal Brexit after he pledged to ‘fight with every breath in my body’ to make sure Parliament gets its say
- John Bercow working with MPs determined to stop Britain crashing out of EU
- Just last week Mr Bercow said he would halt any attempts to suspend parliament
- He vowed to personally challenge Mr Johnson if he tried to push no deal through
Speaker John Bercow has held covert talks with MPs who want to stop a no-deal Brexit.
Mr Bercow is working with a ‘cross-party’ group of MPs who are determined not to let the UK crash out of the EU without a deal in place.
Only last week he insisted he will fight with ‘every breath’ to halt any attempts to suspend parliament in the run-up to Brexit.
The Speaker of the House of Commons said not even the Prime Minister would ‘get away’ with attempting to prorogue parliament.
And he vowed to personally challenge Boris Johnson if he made any attempt to push through a no-deal Brexit.
A former cabinet minister claimed Mr Bercow has held a number of discussions with MPs who want to try and get control of the parliamentary timetable.
The Tory MP told The Sunday Times: ‘He’s very much part of the discussion.
John Bercow is working with a ‘cross-party’ group of MPs who are determined not to let the UK crash out of the EU without a deal in place.
‘He has been pretty clear with us that he believes that a decision as momentous as this can only be made with the consent of parliament and that to try to suspend parliament or avoid bringing legislation to parliament in order to take something through against the consent of parliament would be unconstitutional.’
It is thought the Speaker is being careful not to pre-empt whether the outcome would be remain or leave.
It come as Boris Johnson will tell Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron that there must be a new Brexit deal when he makes his first trip abroad as Prime Minister this week.
Mr Johnson will make clear to the French president and German chancellor that Britain will leave the European Union on October 31 with or without a deal.
The PM, who is heading to Berlin on Wednesday and Paris on Thursday, is expected to say that Parliament will not and cannot cancel the outcome of the EU referendum.
It come as Boris Johnson will tell Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron that there must be a new Brexit deal when he makes his first trip abroad as Prime Minister this week
He will insist there must be a new deal to replace Theresa May’s thrice-defeated Withdrawal Agreement if Britain is to leave with a settlement on October 31.
However, Number 10 said it expects there will be ‘very little discussion’ of Brexit during the visits, predicting that each side would state its position and then move on to other topics.
Instead, it is thought the discussions will revolve around next weekend’s G7 agenda – with topics including foreign policy, security, trade and the environment likely to dominate.
Details of the PM’s travel plans emerged as Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn reiterated his call for MPs to work together to prevent a no-deal Brexit.
Mr Corbyn, who set out his plan to be installed as a caretaker prime minister last week to stop the UK crashing out of the EU without a deal, said his proposal is the ‘most democratic way’ to prevent a no-deal.
He told the Observer: ‘My message to MPs across Parliament is simple and urgent: only by working together can we stop no-deal.
‘Three years after the EU referendum, the country stands at a precipice. Boris Johnson has become Prime Minister without any popular mandate. He has no right to drive our country off a cliff and into the arms of Donald Trump with his no-deal fixation.
‘The plan I set out this week is the simplest and most democratic way to stop no-deal. We have to seize the opportunity before it’s too late, so the people, rather than an unelected Prime Minister, can decide our country’s future.’