Thread by @IanDunt

Debate starts on MPs attempt to prevent Johnson proroguing parliament. Follow here parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/32…

Not going to comment on this live - neck deep in work - but will report votes.

The basics are that if PM Johnson tries to prorogue parliament, the amendment would allow the House to sit to debate motions. Blocks off his strategy to try and cancel parliament, gives MPs a mechanism to stop no-deal.

Last time votes on this were lost, but extremely tight. Possible more Tory MPs will support this time, or that some current ministers will quit to support it.

If it succeeds it'll be very positive indeed. But even if it fails, I think there will be other chances.

The House returns from recess in September. Johnson could try to cancel parliament before then, but it would allow opponents a whole two months before Oct 31st to get around it.

However, the basic facts are that Johnson refuses to rule out cancelling parliament and this is the final opportunity to be absolutely certain of stopping him.

Goes without saying I have very little faith in Tory ministers having the strength of character to quit and support this. Hope I'm wrong.

Ian Paisley Jr makes the not unfair point that a bill which was supposed to be about NI is now about Brexit.

Angela Eagle: "I understood the honourable gentleman's irritation with it, but since this is the only legislative vehicle that we have in sight it is quite legitimate in my view to try to assert parliament's rights."

Tory MP Justine Greening: "What have we come to in Britain where we have to have amendments to ensure that parliament can still operate? You don't win a debate by closing down the main Chamber in which this country's people's views are aired."

Goddammit I said I wasn't going to cover this.

"This amendment has to pass today. If it doesn't, we will have passed a Rubicon inadvertently with our parliamentary democracy. When a govt runs up against an issue, worries the elected House of MPs may decide to stand up against it, then it can just decide to close it down."

Brilliant speech by Greening.

Tory MP Fiona Bruce spends most of her speech attacking the attempt, through an amendment, to liberalise NI's abortion law. Says it was outside the scope of the bill and should never have been debated in the Commons.

A point of orders interrupts to say it's up to Bercow to decide what's in scope.

Bercow concedes he is exercising "some latitude". Heh.

Bercow: "There is nothing disorderly whatsoever about these proceedings. I have exercised my judgement in the way I think fit in order to facilitate the House. There is nothing, I repeat nothing, unconstitutional about that."

Govt minister John Penrose wants to dismiss the amendment because it was already rejected by Commons, before "unelected Lords" sent it back.

Absurd intervention from John Baron, who says Leavers "would in n way countenance a prorogation of parliament... these people are tilting at windmills". Mate. Johnson specifically and repeatedly refuses to rule it out.

Penrose: "The problem with this amendment isn't about more or less democracy. It's that it is pretending to be democratic but in reality it is trying to prevent the democratic referendum decision from ever happening at all."

What a dreadful, pitiful statement.

A government minister saying that attempts to prevent the executive cancelling parliament are "pretending to be democratic".

This is the fag-end of Theresa May's government and that is what it has to say. The same old divisive arrogant nonsense, branding every effort to hold power to account, no matter how basic, as a betrayal of the people.

For all her words on moderation and compromise yesterday, that is how her government behaves. Even the day after she made them.

Voting now taking place. It'll be tight. Tight as fuck probably.

Cabinet ministers have so little to lose and the stakes on this are so high. There are very few excuses.

Bloody fucking helll

Amendment passes.

Wasn't even that tight and certainly not tight as fuck. It passed by 315 votes to 274.

Much, much better than expected. A really strong, confidence-inspiring result.

There's now another vote, which takes a bit of explaining.

Basically the last vote was for a Commons amendment to a Lords amendment. So that amendment has now been added to the Lords amendment. And now the Commons will vote on the whole package - the amended amendment.

I take it that makes sense. It is very hard to describe this stuff without it sounding like madness.

I presume this'll pass fairly easily given the strength of that vote.

Find someone who looks at you the way Thangam Debbonaire looks at destroying Boris Johnson's ability to cancel parliament.

Sorted. Commons accepts amended amendment by 315 votes to 273.

This isn't law yet. The amended amendment will now be incorporated into the bill and sent back to the Lords. Bit of bouncing around will ensue.

But given the scale of the vote and fact amendment is now attached to the bill, it seems unlikely it can be stopped. Plus, later on, even more current Cabinet ministers will be on backbenches and prepared to vote for it, rather than just abstain.

Let's be clear about what it means. Even if the bill passed it would not stop no-deal. It would simply mean that if Johnson tried to cancel parliament, MPs could come and sit anyway.

And in that context, sitting despite attempts by a PM to cancel parliament, I think it very likely they would vote to stop no-deal and force Johnson - as they did last time with the Cooper bill - to seek an extension.

So this doesn't stop no-deal. But it gets us pretty damn close to being able to stop prorogation, if Johnson was fool enough to try it. And it gives us some faith that parliament will stand firm in the battles to come.

Today is a good day.