House Of Commons Rejects Boris Johnson's Call For A Snap Election

Boris Johnson has lost his motion to hold a snap general election.

The Prime Minister failed to get the two-thirds majority he needed - under the rules of the Fixed Term Parliament Act - to force a snap poll through the House of Commons.

The motion was passed by 298 votes to 56, but as Labour abstained from voting, it failed to meet the threshold and an election will not be held.

The next scheduled election is not until 2022.

Following the result, Johnson said Jeremy Corbyn "has become the first leader of the opposition in the democratic history of our country to refuse the invitation of an election."

He went on: "I can only speculate as to the reason behind his hesitation. The obvious conclusion is he does not think he can win."

Johnson called for a general election after MPs voted 327 to 299 in favour of the Brexit delay bill, in a bid to block a No Deal Brexit on 31 October.

Announcing his wish for an election, Johnson said: "There is only one way forward for the country. The House has voted repeatedly to leave the EU but it has also voted to delay actually leaving.

"Today, I'm afraid it has voted to scupper any serious negotiations."

PA

This comes the day after Johnson and his government were defeated - in a 328-301 vote - by opposition MPs and Tory rebels last night (3 September), which allowed them to take control of the political agenda.

Following the defeat, Johnson told Members of Parliament he would not accept a three-month extension to the country's exit from the European Union and that an election was the only way to solve the problem.

Moments after losing the vote, the Tory leader took to the dispatch box, saying: "If the House votes for this bill tomorrow, the public will have to choose who goes to Brussels on October 17 to sort this out."

All 21 'rebel' Tory MPs who defied the whip and voted against the Government last night were kicked out of the party and will not be allowed to stand as Conservatives at the next election.

Following his dismissal - which he received by text - moments after the vote, MP Rory Stewart wrote on Twitter: "Strange that a decision has been made to remove the whip from so many colleagues who were ministers so recently. Particularly when we voted repeatedly for a Brexit deal. I can't think of a historical precedent. But I am not stepping down as an MP."

But it wasn't just the vote that had people talking last night. The Leader of the House of Commons, Jacob Rees-Mogg, attracted widespread criticism from his fellow MPs for his demeanour during this evening's critical Brexit debate.

PA

Speaking in the debate, Green Party leader and MP for Brighton Pavilion Caroline Lucas said: "The Leader of the House, who I have to say with his body language this evening, has been so contemptuous of this house.

"And for the benefit of Hansard, the Leader of the House has been spread across three seats, lying out as if that was something very boring for him to listen to tonight."

Tonight's announcement comes a week after Johnson announced the UK must leave the EU at the end of October, with or without a deal.

Johnson met with the Queen, who gave him permission to prorogue (i.e. suspend) Parliament. This will see a parliamentary shutdown from next week until 14 October.

Nearly two million people signed a petition to stop the controversial move.

Topics: UK News, Parliament, Interesting, brexit, european union, Boris Johnson, Politics

Dominic Smithers

Dominic graduated from the University of Leeds with a degree in French and History. Like you, Dom has often questioned how much use a second language has been. Well, after stints working at the Manchester Evening News, the Accrington Observer and the Macclesfield Express, along with never setting foot in France, he realised the answer is surprisingly little. But I guess, c'est la vie. Contact us at [email protected]

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