A “rebel alliance” of Conservative MPs have on Tuesday night dealt an expected, but no less humiliating, defeat to UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson in the House of Commons.
They were able to seize control of the parliamentary agenda from the government and, after three hours of debate, decided by 328-301 to go ahead with a vote on Wednesday aimed at blocking a “no-deal” withdrawal from the European Union.
As the result was announced, one MP shouted: “Not a good start, Boris.”
All those Conservative MPs who defied Johnson will have the party whip removed – essentially being kicked out of the party – and will be unable to stand as Conservatives in any forthcoming election.
Johnson’s immediate reaction was to call for a general election. “We must make a choice,” he said. “I don’t want an election, but if this House votes for this bill, the public will have to choose who goes to Brussels to sort this out.”
He added that Parliament was “on the brink of wrecking any deal”.
Among those who rebelled was Ken Clarke, a former finance minister and a Tory MP for nearly 50 years, who accused Johnson and his coterie of plotting to fight a hasty election before the consequences of a no-deal Brexit became “too obvious to the public”.
He said Johnson’s answers in the Commons on Tuesday confirmed his “obvious strategy”.
“Which is to set conditions which make no-deal inevitable, to make sure as much blame as possible is attached to the EU and to this House for that consequence and then as quickly as he can fight a flag-waving general election before the consequences of no-deal become too obvious to the public.”
With Johnson’s pledge to leave the European Union with or without a deal – “do or die” in his own words – on or before October 31, parliamentarians and activists have been working to counter the threat they deem is posed by a no-deal Brexit.
Last week, six opposition parties, led by the Labour Party’s Jeremy Corbyn, united in saying they would propose legislation forcing Johnson to seek an extension to the withdrawal deadline, allowing further time for either renegotiation of an exit deal, a vote of no-confidence in the Johnson administration, a general election, a second referendum on EU membership, or some combination of all of them.
Days later, Johnson sought – and received – permission from Queen Elizabeth II to suspend – or “prorogue” – Parliament for five weeks, severely limiting the timetable available for any legislative bid to block a no-deal.
“Ever since they moved to prorogue, it appears the Johnson government’s tactics have been clumsy, and they’ve isolated and insulted the rebels,” Scott Lucas, professor of international politics at the University of Birmingham, told Al Jazeera.
“They almost ensured they were walking into defeat. The government miscalculated, thinking the opposition factoins were too divided, or would go straight for a vote of no-confidence.”
Joining Clarke among the rebels was 71-year-old Sir Nicholas Soames, the grandson of Winston Churchill.
“I will be voting against the government tonight with a very heavy heart,” Soames said during the debate.
Lucas hailed the opposition’s unity: “From the moment prorogation was on the table, they knew what they had to do within a very tight window. That appears to have rattled Johnson, who then started issuing the deselction threats against Conservative MPs joining the rebellion.”
Hundreds of protesters filled the grounds outside parliament as the debate got underway.
“There is no way the MPs inside the chamber cannot hear this protest,” said Al Jazeera’s Emma Hayward, reporting from Westminster. “Protesters say this is just the bgeinning of the fightback, and there’s a sense that the stakes cannot be higher.”
Al Jazeera’s Jonah Hull, also reporting from Parliament, said there was a carnival atmosphere among the protesters, “and something more like an atmosphere of chaos inside”.
