Remainers in fresh bid to block No Deal amid fury at Dominic Cummings

Remainer rebels are preparing a fresh bid to block No Deal Brexit amid fury at strongarm tactics by the PM’s maverick adviser Dominic Cummings.

Pro-EU MPs are gearing up to cancel Parliament’s planned recess next month so they have more time to prevent the UK crashing out of the bloc. 

With assistance from Speaker John Bercow, they could use the extra three weeks of sittings to put down motions seizing control of business in the Commons, and pass a law ordering Boris Johnson to beg Brussels to delay Brexit beyond the October 31 deadline.

The plan is being mulled alongside the ‘nuclear option’ of trying to defeat Mr Johnson in a confidence vote – which would require Tories to end their careers and risk a Jeremy Corbyn government.

Some Remainers also fear that would play into the PM’s hands by triggering an election and dissolving Parliament, meaning MPs lose control of the timetable.   

Meanwhile, the Labour leadership is looking to exploit the Brexit turmoil to seize power. 

The party has ruled out a unity government under a veteran MP like Margaret Beckett, in an apparent effort to back Conservative Remainers into a corner where they must choose between anointing Corbyn PM or No Deal. 

Tensions have been rising amid alarm at the combative stance taken by Mr Johnson after he solemnly vowed to get the UK out of the EU by Halloween.

One Tory insider told the Guardian that Mr Cummings had introduced a ‘reign of terror’ since entering No10, installing the Vote Leave campaign team in key jobs and threatening to sack anyone not completely committed to No Deal if necessary.

There were more claims today that Mr Johnson and his aides are mulling calling an election for November 1 if he loses a confidence vote – the day after Brexit.

One senior No10 official told the Financial Times: ‘We can’t stop them forcing an election but we control the timetable so we will force the date after October 31.

‘If there must be a general election, then it will be days after October 31.’ 

But Mr Johnson himself again urged MPs to ‘get on’ and help him deliver on the result of the 2016 referendum.

‘We are going to leave the European Union on October 31 which is what the people of this country voted for, it’s what MPs voted for, and that’s what I think parliamentarians of this country should get on and do,’ he said.

‘I think that MPs should get on and deliver on what they have promised over and over and over again to the people of this country, they will deliver on the mandate of 2016 and leave the EU on October 31.’

That date would be designed to tie the hands of MPs, but would also cause a constitutional explosion with demands for the Queen to sack Mr Johnson and install another PM to delay the UK’s departure date.

A senior Government source said: ‘It’s speculation. The only date we are thinking of is October 31 – the day we leave the EU.’ 

Shadow chancellor John McDonnell was accused of plotting a ‘coup’ today after he said he would put Jeremy Corbyn ‘in a cab’ and send him to Buckingham Palace to demand he be made premier instead. 

The latest Remainer wheeze would involve hijacking the motion that sends the Commons off on recess while party conferences take place.

It is usually nodded through – but a division can be forced if enough MPs object. Defeating the motion means the House continues to sit. 

One pro-EU MP told MailOnline the option of a government of national unity was too high risk.  

‘The government of national unity would be great, because I would rather have a bunch of grown ups running the country than not,’ they said.

‘But once you have pushed the button on a vote of no confidence in HM government you cannot close the lid again.’

‘Unless you can then be absolutely sure you can win a confidence vote in that new government of national unity – tick tock, 14 days goes and you think ‘Oh sh** you’ve dissolved parliament”.

‘Then you really are in the deep do-do because the executive has untrammeled control for the key period.’ 

Mr Cummings escalated an extraordinary public war of words with Remainers including Tory former Cabinet minister Dominic Grieve yesterday.

Doorstepped by reporters at his London home, he said preparations for leaving the EU on October 31 without a withdrawal agreement were going ‘great’.

Mr Grieve had attacked the No 10 adviser’s ‘characteristic arrogance and ignorance’ for reportedly saying it was now too late for MPs to stop No Deal with fewer than 90 days until the October 31 deadline.

But Mr Cummings told Sky News: ‘I don’t think I am arrogant. I don’t know very much about very much. Mr Grieve will see what he’s right about.’

He added: ‘The most simple thing is, the Prime Minister believes politicians don’t get to choose which votes they respect – that is the critical issue.’

Tory veteran Nicholas Soames today urged Mr Johnson to put his adviser ‘back in his box’ by ordering him to ‘put a sock in it’.

‘Cummings is a functionary and should, like a child, be seen but not heard,’ he tweeted. 

Former Treasury mandarin Sir Nick Macpherson also waded into the row, comparing Mr Cummings to Thomas Cromwell – who was installed as Lord Protector after Charles I was executed in the 17th Century.

‘My main advice to public servants, whether political or official, is to avoid self promotion and believing your own myth. Otherwise, it tends to end badly. #thomascromwell,’ he said. 

Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has been banging the drum for post-Brexit trade on a tour of the Americas.

He is due in Mexico today, and said a new trade partnership could be a ‘win-win relationship’ for the UK.

Mr Raab will launch a new partnership with Mexico aimed at boosting economic growth in both countries.

The Partnership Agreement, to be signed during Mr Raab’s first official visit to Mexico City, will encourage greater political co-operation, including on climate change.

The initiative will be backed up with £60million over the next four years from the Government’s Prosperity Fund.

This will be used to help Mexico tackle poverty and inequality, strengthen its business environment and open up markets, which in turn will create opportunities for UK businesses, estimated to be worth more than £450 million by 2026.

It also aims to promote greater investment and trade in the sectors of advanced manufacturing, energy, financial services, health, education and green finance and technology.

Mr Raab said: ‘The new partnership that we’re launching today is an important part of our Global Britain strategy.

‘The UK is excited to be working with our Mexican friends to develop a win-win relationship. There are huge opportunities to boost two-way trade, create jobs, tackle poverty and inequality, and address key Mexican priorities such as strengthening transparency and reducing corruption.’

Mexico is not the only country with which the UK is seeking to find new trade deals.

Mr Raab said US President Donald Trump indicated a ‘huge appetite’ for signing a free trade deal with Britain once it has left the EU.

He said Mr Trump had been ‘effusive in his warmth’ towards Britain and had expressed his ‘high regard’ for Boris Johnson as Prime Minister.

At a meeting with US secretary of state Mike Pompeo in Washington DC, Mr Raab said he hopes to remain ‘good neighbours’ with the EU, but said he is ‘determined to seize the global opportunities beyond Europe’.

The Foreign Secretary said: ‘On defence, security and intelligence, our countries trust each other more deeply. We work together more closely than any others.

The two options being pursued by Remainers as they battle to block No Deal Brexit

Westminster is braced for an explosive couple of months as the October 31 Brexit deadline looms.

Boris Johnson has made a ‘do or die’ vow to get the UK out of the bloc by the crucial date, with or without a deal.

But Remainer MPs have been mobilising as they seek ways of blocking the country from crashing out.

There does appear to be a majority in the Commons against No Deal – but MPs are badly split over how they should go about binding the hands of the government.

Remainers admit they are now at a ‘fork in the road’, with opinion divided between two potential options for averting No Deal.

Some, such as Tory former Cabinet minister Dominic Grieve, have been focusing on whether a no-confidence motion could be passed to evict Mr Johnson from power if he is about to push through Brexit without an agreement. 

Mr Grieve has suggested putting a ‘unity’ premier into No10, perhaps Labour veteran Margaret Beckett, who could ask for an extension to the Article 50 process. 

However, Mr Johnson’s hard-line Brexit adviser Dominic Cummings has made it known that he would simply refuse to quit even if he loses a confidence vote, and try to call an election for after the deadline. 

The other avenue being pursued by Remainers is to pass a law that would oblige the PM to seek and accept an extension to Article 50 from the EU.

Unlike the confidence vote, that would not risk Parliament being dissolved for an election – which could leave MPs powerless to stop No Deal.

But there are concerns that Mr Johnson might either ignore the law or refuse to accept any conditions Brussels puts on an extension. 

Option 1: A vote of no confidence in the Government

 If the stand-off has not been broken by September, Labour is expected to team up with Tory rebels to stage an early confidence vote to stave off the threat of crashing out. 

It is a drastic option that would end the careers of any Conservative MPs who join, but only a PM can request an extension to the Article 50 process, and the legal default currently is that the UK leaves at Halloween with or without an agreement. 

As the government’s working majority is just one and with strong cross-party opposition to No Deal, there is a serious prospect that Mr Johnson will lose.

But Mr Cummings reportedly ‘laughed’ at a meeting recently when it was put to him that Mr Johnson would have to quit if he lost such a vote.

Instead, he could try to wait for an election to be triggered and fight it on a ‘people vs politicians’ ticket, complaining that his opponents are trying to block Brext. 

He could also try to fix an election date that was after the Brexit date – robbing the Commons of its ability to control the process and achieving a No Deal Brexit by default.  

Under the Fixed Term Parliaments Act (FTPA), losing a confidence motion triggers a 14 day countdown to an election being called.

During that period it is possible for a Prime Minister to win a confidence vote and prevent the country going to the polls.

However, the legislation is silent on whether the same premier can return to try again.

Remainer MPs say the Queen would have to sack Mr Johnson if he refused to resign after losing a confidence vote. 

But the monarch has always been extremely wary of wading into politics, and it is far from clear that there will be another politician with more chance of commanding a majority in the Commons. Labour has already ruled out the Remainers’ favoured option of a national unity government, and Mr Corbyn can barely rely on the support of his own MPs – let along Tories.   

Option 2: Passing a law to delay Brexit

Pro-EU MPs have already deployed the tactic of seizing control of Commons business to pass a law insisting on a Brexit delay.

In April a Bill sponsored by Labour’s Yvette Cooper and Tory Oliver Letwin made it through Parliament, which paved the way for the Article 50 extension to October 31. 

There are moves afoot to cancel the schedule recess next month, which would give more time.

It would require the assistance of Speaker John Bercow, but he has shown himself will to stretch procedural rules to breaking point in order to facilitate MPs getting involved in the Brexit process. 

Potentially this approach would involve an emergency debate – known as a Section 24 debate – being tabled and accepted by the Speaker.

He would then allow the MPs to put down a business motion in the slot the next day, setting out the steps for a law to be passed.

That legislation is likely to be very short, simply instructing the PM to seek and accept an extension from the EU.

Remainers are divided over whether the Bill should point the way to a resolution to the Brexit crisis, such as a referendum.

However, if passed by the Commons and the Lords, Mr Johnson would be breaking the law if he refused to ask for an extension.

Refusing to comply would spark legal action, and cause a constitutional crisis.