Johnson’s only been speaking for a couple of minutes and already I’m desperate to switch off.
Even now, ‘taking back control of our laws, borders and money’. NI will be subject to the ECJ, we’re going to pay the EU £39 billion and he’s literally just agreed to put up a customs border in his own country
Take a step back for a moment and consider just how outrageous it is that MPs are having to offer definitive judgement on country’s most important international treaty in decades, which could clobber jobs, the Union and our economy, less than 48 hours after it was even published
This isn’t the bill after lunch. It is a permanent, binding international treaty which will affect the lives of every single person in this country. There hasn’t even been enough time for most MPs to read it. Are we a serious country or aren’t we?
Such a pathetic little lie from Johnson, that EU wouldn’t want to delay process by even a single day. If we’re going to approve this bill of course we can have extra few weeks to scrutinise & implement it. Nobody cares if he has to dig a ditch, this is about our country’s future.
Corbyn making very strong speech now. Notes that no-deal could well follow next year. Mentions key industries and companies that depend on supply chains & customs union. Points out workers’ rights have been given no binding guarantees whatsoever.
Corbyn hilariously refers to Raab’s comment about ‘NI’s cracking deal as it maintains frictionless access to single market’ and asks why the whole UK can’t get such a ‘cracking’ deal. Notes Johnson used to guarantee he’d never introduce border in Irish Sea.
Boris Johnson, the man who a few weeks ago reduced MPs to tears by baiting them with word ‘surrender’, telling them their death threats were ‘humbug’ and insisting we should do Brexit to honour Jo Cox’s memory, just lambasted Jeremy Corbyn for his tone
Ken Clarke up now. Starts by exposing Johnson’s lie that people in the EU want federalism. Disappoints by announcing he will support the deal - after, presumably, Letwin has passed.
Johnson doubles down on lie that EU leaders want federalism. This is a naked, shameless lie. So tired of this.
Blackford notes that, as usual, Johnson has not mentioned Scotland once. The SNP has every right to be furious about the last three years. The English nationalists in government couldn’t have told Scotland to fuck off - including, in the end, out of the Union - any more loudly.
In 2014 Scottish voters were assured they would get new powers. Since then they’ve been dismissed, ignored and overruled. Sturgeon issued basic demand for a single market and the Westminster government didn’t bother even to engage with it. It is hard to imagine deeper contempt.
Jo Swinson notes that the economic effect of this deal would be worse than the financial crash.
As a side note, that financial crash almost certainly led to Brexit. Wonder what this deal could lead to when the inevitable disaster unfolds?
Nigel Dodds of DUP making a sombre, effective speech, confronting the prime minister with his previous assurances like a weary dad who’s found weed in his son’s bedroom again
Johnson says it’s time for people to ‘put aside their differences and vote for this deal’. In other words, to suspend their opposition and just support him.
Nobody has yet asked the prime minister why he has put forward a deal that’s unlawful - perhaps Rees-Mogg can pipe up from the frontbench to ask the House to repeal his own amendment outlawing different customs arrangements for Northern Ireland?
Kate Hoey asks whether Northern Ireland will join the full FTA with the rest of the UK next year. Johnson stammers and yammers a reply. Northern Ireland is never leaving this arrangement.
Greg Clark seeks confirmation that workers’ rights will never be inferior to those in the EU. Johnson confirms it. Suspect that line will one day be thrown back at him.
Joanna Cherry asks how it will strengthen the Union to force a Brexit on Scotland that it never voted for. This is unanswerable.
Johnson idiotically replies that Scotland ‘had its referendum’ in 2014. That would be the referendum where voters were told they could only remain in the EU by staying in the UK.
Steve Baker urges ERG to approve deal. Dangerous times.
Two key questions: Pat McFadden asked how PM could promise both deregulation to ERG and continuing standards to Labour waverers. Luciana Berger asked how MPs could possibly vote on an economic deal without any economic impact assessment. These are basic, unanswerable points.
