Boris Johnson news – live: Major blow for prime minister as Commons vote paves way for bill preventing no-deal Brexit
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Your support makes all the difference.Rebel Tories have defied Boris Johnson's threats of deselection to align with opposition MPs and derail his Brexit plans in a historic Commons vote.
MPs voted to seize control of the house agenda, paving the way for a bill to be tabled tomorrow that would prevent the prime minister from crashing the country out of the EU on October 31.
The prime minister's statement to the House earlier this evening was upstaged when Tory MP Dr Phillip Lee dramatically crossed the floor to sit with the Liberal Democrats, depriving him of his majority.
Mr Johnson said he would put in train a motion calling for a general election next month.
Labour have said they may vote in favour of such a poll, but only if they could be certain Mr Johnson would not move the date until after Britain is due to leave on October 31, in effect bringing about a no-deal by default.
Ken Clarke says he is "astonished" to hear Jacob Rees-Mogg say the UK will not suffer from trading on WTO rules.
"WTO rules will require us to have a closed border in Ireland," he adds.
On a related note, I was right about Crispin Blunt's tie.
(Credit: Parliament.tv)
Jacob Rees-Mogg has described the attempt to take control of the order papers as "unprecedented".
"It is for parliament to scrutinise, to amend, to reject or to approve," and not to bring business to the House, which is the role of the government, he says.
If parliament wants to depose the government there should be a confidence vote, Mr Rees-Mogg says.
But MPs are fearful of such a course - "white with fear" - because they don't want Jeremy Corbyn in Downing Street, he says.
Angela Eagle, of Labour, says to Mr Rees-Mogg that the planned prorogation has in fact diminished the ability of MPs to apply to the government the scrutiny of which he has just spoken.
Steve Baker, the newly appointed chairman of the European Research Group of Conservative MPs, has said the party would need to forge an arrangement with Nigel Farage's Brexit Party to win a general election before 31 October.
The former minister said the insurgent party, which won big in the European Parliament elections, would stand candidates "virtually everywhere" if the UK went to the polls before left the EU.
He claimed that could lead to a Liberal Democrat and Labour "remain coalition".
He also warned Boris Johnson that merely removing the backstop from Theresa May's withdrawal deal would not be enough to secure his support.
Additional reporting by PA
Here's the view from the government benches - or the portion that has not decided to rebel:
Jared O'Mara is still a Labour MP tonight.
The 37-year-old, who defeated Nick Clegg in Sheffield Hallam in 2017, announced in July he would step down after a series of problems which saw him suspended from the parliamentary Labour Party, and then resign from the party.
But MPs cannot simply resign. If they want to leave the Commons they have to apply to be appointed to one of two ancients stewardships.
A Treasury spokesman said on Tuesday: "Jared O'Mara remains an MP after writing to the Chancellor asking to postpone his appointment to an office of the Crown."
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