Ok, nervous moment now. Let's see what's in it and what happens next.
Caution on all those saying DUP on board. Don't believe it until you hear it from them. Could be attempt to bounce them into it.
Main non-DUP issue for Johnson now. If it's an indicative vote on general basis for deal, it won't work to stop the Benn Act forcing a request for an extension. But if it is a detailed legal text, the ERG will see all the little gremlins in it, like ECJ jurisdiction.
Quick reminder: Ignore anyone who expresses any certainty whatsoever on any aspect of what's going on.
Huge changes result from this. If this deal doesn't pass and there is a general election, Johnson can no longer campaign on a deal-or-maybe-no-deal ticket. Would presumably have to campaign on the back of this deal.
That would force him to deal with specifics, more prose & less poetry, and with the scrutiny that comes with that.
But anyway, that's many steps ahead.
Order paper for today. Rebel MPs already gearing up to make sure Saturday's debate can run on as long as needed and feature multiple amendments. 
It's out, here's the deal ec.europa.eu/commission/pre…
Barnier making statement. Confirming most of the reports from this morning on customs, VAT, consent.
On consent: confirmation DUP don't get a veto, just simple majority vote in Stormont.
Barnier asked if he thinks Johnson can get deal through parliament. "The House of Commons will have to take that decision as their responsibility."
"What do you want me to say? I'm the EU chief negotiator. I never wanted to give any judgement on British political debate. I fully respect those procedures and the debate, which has been a very lively and interesting one."
Classic Michel.
Really surprised the full withdrawal agreement and political declaration will be ready on time. I thought there was basically no chance of that and that they'd rely on much less detailed text.
Imagine you're a pro-deal Labour MP right now. You'd prefer closer relationship, but could settle for this. If you vote for the deal, you get this. If you vote against, you get a general election where this is worst case scenario and a Labour deal is the best case scenario.
Obvs politics doesn't always work this way, but what exactly is the incentive, esp considering the amount of hatred you'd get from your party if you were responsible for seeing it over the line.
Level playing field conditions on workers rights & environmental standards is indicative of weird half-truth world this debate is conducted in.
They've been moved out of legal withdrawal agreement document and into non-legal political declaration, as a condition for a future trade deal.
What difference does that make in objective reality? None really. The UK will want an FTA. These are the conditions it will have to accept for having it.
But by having it in the non-legal text, it allows Johnson to insist to Labour MPs that he's met their demands while assuring ERG that he won't.
Even at this stage, Brexit only survives on the basis of staying as far from reality as possible.
Corbyn: "Doesn't meet our demands or expectations, it creates a border in the Irish Sea."
Corbyn impressively calm and honing in on the most politically effective points - carve up of UK, threat of US trade deal.
Johnson secured things many of us thought couldn't be done, let's be clear about that: reopening the withdrawal agreement, scrapping backstop, a dual customs system.
But on negotiations, he seems to have caved on almost every issue: customs checks in Irish Sea, level playing field (in reality), DUP veto, VAT.
Fucking hell Saturday's going to be intense.
Jacob Rees-Mogg handling questions in the Commons parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/6c…
Key Commons issue today, as it stands, will be the amendment to the business of the House motion on Saturday's debate. This will be a fight over controlling how events on Saturday play out. publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201920/cm…
Govt motion would only allow for a 1.5 hour debate with one amendment. Rebel amendment would allow it to be longer and with multiple amendments.
That obviously makes it much easier for MPs to vote on things like a second referendum etc.
Think it's interesting that Philip Hammond is on the list of signatories. A lot might hinge on how the pro-deal purged Tories vote.
They are pro-deal. But Hammond, for instance, was a Cabinet secretary in a govt that said it would never allow there to be a customs border across the UK. He would be perfectly within his rights to vote against this.
In the Commons, Mogg says of the European Curt of Justice (ECJ): "As the morning mist fades, so will the supremacy of that appalling court." ECJ jurisdiction over Northern Ireland was confirmed by today's deal.
And quite right too. If it didn't feature, then NI citizens would have no legal route to challenge EU laws affecting them. But in Brexit world up is down and down is up and legal representation is a form of vassalage.
Labour MP Clive Efford to Mogg: "Back in March he gave us a reason for not supporting the previous withdrawal agreement - that it didn't have the support of the DUP. Could he make a statement today as to why that criteria no longer applies?"
Mogg: "This is well worth supporting. I would encourage the DUP to support it too."
Govt moving motion for the Saturday debate. Bercow says he's selected the rebel amendment.
Mogg typically insane. "It will be a golden age for the UK, when we are free of the heavy yoke of the EU, that has bowed us down for generations, all of that will be gone and we will be singing hallelujahs."
I've talked to people on acid who make more sense.
One of them just kept whispering to me: "This conversation has already happened". He'd still be better placed to be leader of the House.
Mogg says the amendment could actually shorten the time for debate. Under govt plan the 90min debate is protected. If the debate is set to go on until 2:30pm, then it isn't and the PM's long statement could kill off debating time.
Mogg reaches back in time and uses May's tactic of pretending the Saturday debate will be on deal versus no-deal. It isn't. It's on deal vs extension.
Mogg: "What sort of fantasy world is it where you ask for an extension where you've already got a deal?" The kind of fantasy world where parliament votes down the deal, mate.
Letwin moves the amendment. He says the deal "looks admirable". He will vote for it. This is consistent. He has always said he'll vote for any deal.
Letwin rejects Mogg argument that PM statement could infringe on debating time. Says it is up to Speaker to protect debate if he wants, and suggests he probably will.
Bercow intervenes to destroy Mogg's argument. He says that theoretically the debate would be shorter on the amendment, but "that would be a result of a decision from the Chair, because the Chair has discretion."
The sticks the knife in. "There is no way on earth I would allow that to happen. The debate would not be shorter."
Real sense of danger at the speed of events. The proposals in that deal will define the UK, in various different economic and constitutional ways, for a generation. It has been smacked together over a few days and now the govt wants MPs to make a call on it after 90mins debate.
Just take a step back from the political pressures for a moment. That is not a sane way to proceed. I've worked on website redesign decisions that have taken longer than that.
Soubrey: "What's happened to the scrutiny we'd expect from our select committees in looking at this agreement. To say that this place should not debate for longer than 90mins is an outrage. But then to say we can't even amendment it would compound that outrage."
Division. MPs going off to vote.
Quick reminder: The vote is on whether Saturday's debate should be for 90mins with one amendment (govt view) or longer with room for more amendments (rebel view).
Expect rebels to win. But do not interpret that as a sign Commons set to vote down deal on Saturday. As Letwin just made clear, plenty of purged Tories would oppose govt here but then back the deal.
Rebel victory.
Ayes: 287
Noes: 275
Ayes: 287
Noes: 275
Saturday's debate will now be much longer and, more importantly, can include multiple amendments. That means the efforts to get a referendum lock on the deal are go.
Amended motion approved. That's settled.
This was crucial for the attempt to get a referendum on that deal, but I wouldn't read much into the way it went or the number of votes. Doesn't tell us much.
I wonder if there's a point that I furiously ingest so much coffee and vape that I start to mutate.
Ok full report: What's just happened, what might happen now, how to be a success in the barter economy to come politics.co.uk/blogs/2019/10/…
Summary: This is properly going down now. It all comes down to Saturday. And it is going to be tight.
