Thread by @IanDunt

Righti ho, just back from recording Remainiacs. And it seems that things are just where I left them.

Antoinette Sandbach, now an independent Mp after losing the whip, says she "wants to put on record what a pleasure it has been to serve my constituents".

"They'd be amazed to know that the purge of the Conservative party which took place yesterday led to their member of parliament being expelled from the party...

...together with eight privy councillors, two former chancellors, a former lord chancellor and [Ken Clarke] who has been an inspiration to me for years."

This bill is like a normal piece of legislation, but it'll go through the in fast-forward. We're current having the second reading debate.

We'll have committee stage around 5:30. They'll try to chuck on a bunch of amendments, including that zany wish-we'd-voted-for-May's-deal amendment.

Probably be a series of votes on those amendments in the early evening - 7pm-ish? - then it'll get sent off to the Lords, where they are going to have an epic battle over it.

Then Boris Johnson is set to put forward his attempt to secure a general election. Maybe 9pm/10pm. It requires a two-thirds majority, which he isn't going to get. What happens after that in anyone's guess

Interesting from Brexiter Tory MP Edward Leigh, kicking back against the treatment of rebel MPs. "I hope that those like [Phillip Hammond] who voted with their conscience - I don;t agree with him, but he did vote with his conscience - can find a way to stand again for our party"

"The trouble with purges is if you purge one group of people, you may to purge another group of people, for instance when you try to push a deal through parliament."

Brexit secretary Stephen Barclay is making a statement, but it's all such utter arse there's really no point repeating any of it.

Division. MPs vote for second reading.

As I said yesterday, there's really very little reason to think the numbers will change from yesterday. That's now doubly true given the remarkably mercenary response of the Tory party towards rebel MPs after last night's vote.

If it did move, I'd expect it to go towards rebellion. But suspect they'll be largely the same as yesterday.

Ayes: 329
Noes: 300

As expected. On we go.

Interesting that it's gathered one extra vote. Was that a new Tory rebel? Or someone on the opposition benches who didn't vote yesterday?

Or, who knows, Labour's Kate Hoey or John Mann, switching.

Ah, looks like it might be Caroline Spelman

https://twitter.com/IsabelHardman/status/1169282660935618561

No need for updates. Quite remarkably tedious so far.

A group of wish-we'd-voted-for-May Labour MPs are pushing for an amendment to somehow bring her deal back, even though I'm really not sure they'd vote for it if it did.

They're being countered by Bill Cash who's going on about "vassalage", which I think might be his safe word.

Christ alive he's a fucking dimwit.

Currently banging on about how the bill forces the UK to accept any extension date set by the EU. He challenges Hilary Benn to "get up and deny it if in fact what I've just read out, which is the text of the bill, is wrong".

Benn gets up. Points out that if he reads below subsection 2, which he's just read out, if specifically gives parliament power to decide on an EU offer.

"I don't think that's really an excuse," Cash says. Amazing.

It's like trying to debate the Highway Code with a can of dog food.

Iain Duncan Smith now gets up after his afternoon snack and says it's all about conditional offers. He does not realise that that part of the bill gives his lot the last chance to get the no-deal transcendence experience they are seemingly so keen on.

Or maybe he doesn't care. Who knows. It kills my brain cells to even consider it.

And now it's Sir Christopher Chope god help us all.

Be kind and considerate. Because if you're not, this is where you'll go in the afterlife.

Cash: "The whole thing effectively is a massive racket the object of which is to put us into a state of subjugation..." Mercifully interrupted by deputy Speaker Eleanor Laing.

If she hadn't I honestly believe he would have kept on going until the evening, eventually degenerating into just key-words: 'vassalage', 'slavery', 'sovereignty'...

Lady Hermon, doing the Lord's work in there, pretty much on her own, shooting down their bullshit.

"The rt hon gentleman and many of his colleagues claimed they're going to take back control of the borders. May I just ask the rt hon gentleman how he intends to take control of South Armagh?"

Tory MP Craig Mackinlay: "Having builders in. And you haven't given them an end date. What happens? The building work goes on and on and on. Isn't it time we told the builders, 31st October is the end date. You finish the job. No ifs, no buts, no compromises."

Good grief what a relentless torrent of unmitigated bollocks.

And to think I used to consider the household analogy used to argue for austerity imbecilic. Compared to this, it was golden age of intellectual accomplishment.

Finishing up now. Barclay for the govt with the standard degenerate nonsense. "This bill cannot be improved because it goes against the democratic wish of the British people."

Division. MPs currently voting on the first amendment. I don't expect any of these to succeed.

First one is amendment 19, which replaces the automatic Oct 19th extension request with a requirement for the govt to hold a vote on a deal by Oct 21st, with an extension afterwards if it passes.

You can read all the amendments here if that's how you roll, or just follow @ThimontJack, who's the best person for keeping on track of this sort of thing publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbill…

@ThimontJack Ayes: 65
Noes: 495

@ThimontJack Pretty much what we were expecting. And now Kinnock's amendment (6).

@ThimontJack This is the one that brings May's deal back from the dead. Likely to suffer a similar fate to the last one. Neither front bench are behind these amendments, so you're dead in the water basically.

@ThimontJack Had to step away, and everything just went completely weird with the Kinnock amendment and now I'm lost in an avalanche of what the fuck is actually going on.

@ThimontJack What. The fuck.

https://twitter.com/PARLYapp/status/1169316027345383430

Lot's of confusions atm. Not clear if Kinnock amendment definitely passed, although it seems so. Not clear if it was an accident, or a govt trick. Either way, this is bad.

The Kinnock amendment does not stop the extension provision in the bill, it simply says that the extension must be to give MPs another chance to vote on May's deal.

If it has been passed - I think it has - it could either be unpicked in the Lords, although they've enough on their plate trying to stop Brexiter wrecking tactics, or it could be a problem for another day.

And if it really came down to it and MPs again voted on her deal, it'd presumably still lose because both front benches are opposed.

But there's some deep spiritual part of me which feels that this whole thing being resolved by MPs eventually passing May's deal after she'd gone because it slipped through by accident is just absolute peak Brexit

Kinnock and the other MPs on that amendment, who don't really want May's deal but just want to have something to tell their constituents, should be ashamed of themselves really.

Anyway, not a complete disaster, but a significant irritation. MPs currently voting on third reading, at which point it'll go off to the Lords.

Ayes: 327
Noes: 299

Hilary Benn, author of the bill: "The House has spoken this evening. If the other place [the Lords] passes the bill then I say to the Pm that this House expected him to uphold the law."

Benn has really played a blinder over the last few months. He's been diligent, intelligent, principled, farsighted.

He also pays tribute to Tory rebels for their "bravery and courage... who have stood by their convictions in the national interest".

Kinnock says the bill has been approved as amended. And calls govt to publish the withdrawal agreement bill. Get a grip man.

Johnson up. Stream of nonsense. "Bill designed to overturn the biggest democratic vote in our history". The usual. Repeated use of surrender. "I refuse to do this Mr Speaker."

"The House have voted to scupper any serious negotiations." He really has no shame does he.

Johnson says the bill takes away "the right of this country to decide how long it stays in the EU and hands that power to the EU". Needles to say, it does not. It takes the power from government and hands it to parliament.

Striking how much Johnson's language relies on notions of surrender, humiliation, submission.

"In my view and the view of this govt there must now be an election on Tues 15th October."

Insists Corbyn would "beg" the EU for extensions. Corbyn must see the danger here. It is striking. Quite clear the election Johnson wants to fight.

He can deny it to him, but he'll need to stand firm - and longer than just the bill getting royal assent. Corbyn up.

"This is the second time I've replied to a Cons PM seeking to dissolve parliament to deliver an election because they didn't have a deliverable Brexit policy". May "at least made detailed speeches setting out her Brexit policy."

"This PM claims he has a strategy, but he can't tell us what it is. The bigger problem for him is that he hasn't told the EU what it is either."

This is really good from Corbyn so far.

Damn.

Corbyn says he'll back election once the rebel bill passes into law.

Think that's the wrong call. Would be better to wait until Johnson had been forced into the extension.

But tbh there's still lots of wriggle room here. Depends on current timing with the bill and prorogation - there might not be a big enough gap in between. Also depends on whether Labour uses no-confidence, which creates a new 14-day timetable afterwards.

Clarke. "I found these exchanges quite predictable. I do think the PM with the greatest respect has a tremendous skill of keeping a straight face when he's being disingenuous."

Clarke outlines the obvious plan. "He's obviously going to campaign on the basis that he's been thwarted from getting an amazing beneficial deal for this country...

which has actually been blocked by wicked continental politicians and MPs in the House of Commons who have no true sense of the national interest, which is to keep him in power."

Just brilliant.

Blackford (SNP): "Can I congratulate with all my heart [Ken Clarke]. I'll give you a sense of friendly advice Mr Prime Minister. Sack your adviser Dominic Cummings and bring in [Ken Clarke]."

No-one is a greater victim of Iain Duncan's Smith's personality than he is himself.

I think I can actually feel my life force drying up inside me.

Another genius Brexit deal metaphor from Craig Mackinley, fresh from his wonderful turn earlier about the builders.. "I've got a rusty old heap of a car, it's yours for £15,000. I'm sure he'll just take it."

That was as bad a speech as I've seen in the Commons. So unoriginal as to demonstrate the fundamental vapidity of the brain from which it emerged, tediously delivered, and wrong on its own terms.

Jo Swinson: "The PM has wanted the job that he has for so long it has been almost painful to watch. He has been prepared to say anything and do anything to get that job. He has said we will get a great deal. Well now he has the job. That is the job. Go and get a great deal."

Anna Soubry: "It's important that in this debate we are mindful of the language we use. It has been concerning that rt hon ,embers opposite has chosen to use the word 'frit' of those of us who believe the last thing this country needs is a general election."

"If hon members opposite aren't familiar with courage, they might want to talk to some of those hon members they've just booted out of their party."

"Decent, long-serving, hugely loyal members of the Conservative party who chose to put their constituents and country first. And the price they have paid is to see the end of their parliamentary career."

Quite pitiful to see Tory MPs claim the bill hands power to the EU to decide the extension length unilaterally, as Julia Lopez just did. They are either lying, or unable to read.

Jess Phillips: "Tonight I will vote against a general election just like I will vote against pretty much anything the current PM put in front of me."

She warns the Speaker she may say some things which are "unparliamentary". Then goes on: "I have no faith in literally anything the prime minister says. There is no distance that I could trust him."

"The PM is playing some bully boy game, of some bully boy public school that I probably won't understand..."

Tory MP shouting. Phillips: "Sorry would the hon gentleman like to make an intervention? Crack on."

She is so brilliant.

"Yesterday I watched Conservative colleagues begging him to tell them what he wanted... to give them a deal to vote for. This is some game that three men in No.10 have come up with to try to game the system so that they win."

"Personally I will not vote for any election that falls before October 31st." Yeah, like I said. She's really quite marvellous.

"It's just a shame that quite a lot of the people who are sat in front of me who know that what happened over the last two days is wrong are too cowardly to actually say in here, in public, what they're all saying in the tea rooms."

"You'e all crowed and given sympathy to me about the problems that we have in the Labour party and you have just sat by silently as your colleagues were marched out."

"We shouldn't go on conference recess. We shouldn't be proroguing parliament. We are currently in a national crisis. This is not a game. This is not some toy we can play with."

"I'm meant to believe the PM is really doing this because he has a vision for the people in this country? He has a vision that comes to him every night and it is his own face."

Look, trust me. Just go on the Parliament TV website, link below, rewind five minutes and watch that speech. Majestic. parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/a9…

Right. Division. MPs go off to vote.

Not expecting many surprises here. It requires a two-thirds majority. Labour not supporting means it won;t even get a normal one.

We also know the line Corbyn is sticking to on when he'll accept an election - even if we might only find out later what this means re the crucial Oct 19th extension date.

Johnson response will be interesting. But hard to see what options he has, to be honest. He has been completely checkmated.

I haven't checked up since this afternoon, but unless something has changed the plan was for Labour MPs to abstain, but that those who'd already said they'd vote against could do so.

Ayes: 298
Noes: 56

Don't worry. Doesn't mean it passes. Needs two-thirds majority.

Johnson fails.

Johnson 100% record maintained.

Johnson doing the best he can, mocking Corbyn for refusing an election. "I can only speculate about the reasons for his hesitation. The obvious reason is that he doesn't think he will win."

"I urge his colleagues to reflect on what I think is the unsustainability of this position overnight and over the next few days." And that's it. He's got nowhere else to go.

OK that's it for today. Baffling shitscape of nonsense that it was.

Fucking hell what a time to be alive.

It's not so much 4D chess as 5D snakes and ladders.

And no I'm not staying up to cover the Lords all night, you monsters.

Piece up on Politics.co.uk in a moment.

Labour rejects Johnson's election: What the hell happens now? politics.co.uk/blogs/2019/09/…

Working on the assumption that there's a lot more flexibility in Corbyn's statement today than there might at first appear. Everything now depends on how the pressure builds over the next few days.

Couple of things I'm not quite sure of and will endeavour to understand by tomorrow: 1) Exactly how the time gap between the bill passing and prorogation works. Can Johnson shift it at all? How do last stages of bill play out?

2) How do the 14-days after no-confidence vote work with regards to prorogation?

Not sure it there's any nasty creepy-crawlies in the details there. But anyway, that can wait. Time for bed.