Boris Johnson news: PM to prorogue parliament again amid EU concern over ‘problematic points’ in new Brexit border plan
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Your support makes all the difference.Boris Johnson’s government has now published details of proposals for a withdrawal agreement to take the UK out of the EU by the end of the month, but the European Commission quickly said that “problematic points” remained in the prime minister’s plans.
Emerging after the PM’s conference speech, the proposals drew swift criticism as “problematic” and failing to safeguard the interests of people and traders on the island of Ireland. “A lot of work is needed,” said Michel Barnier, while noting the concrete offer did constitute progress.
Mr Johnson’s plan, which he billed as a compromise for the UK, would mean customs checks on trade between Northern Ireland and the Republic as well as a regulatory control border down the Irish Sea. One manufacturers’ pressure group described the scheme, which would effectively create two borders, as “worse than no deal”.
The PM used his conference speech to say the UK must deliver Brexit because voters feel they’re being “taken for fools”. And attacking parliament, he claimed MPs “would have been voted out of the jungle by now” if politics was a reality TV show.
In the early evening, Downing Street confirmed plans to prorogue parliament again ahead of a new Queen’s Speech on 14 October.
While the Tory conference drew to a close in Manchester, the debate on the domestic violence bill continued in Westminster. Labour’s Rosie Duffield won praise for, and brought her colleagues to tears with, her account of her own experience of coercive control.
Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson dismissed Boris Johnson's speech as "bluff and bluster" and accused him of putting lives at risk.
Ms Swinson said: "When you strip away the bluff and bluster, this was a speech by a Prime Minister who is determined to crash us out of the EU without a deal.
"Fanatically repeating 'get Brexit done' does not give any comfort to the cancer patient worried about accessing their medication, or the factory worker whose job is on the line.
"Getting Brexit done puts their lives and their jobs at risk, and that is why Liberal Democrats are working hard to stop it."
Veteran MP Roger Godsiff has become the third Labour politician to face a battle for his seat after activists voted to trigger a reselection ballot.
Labour members in Birmingham Hall Green voted against automatically choosing Mr Godsiff as their next parliamentary candidate, paving the way for an open contest in the constituency.
More here:
Here’s Labour MP Stella Creasy talking about being targeted for harassment.
The Irish premier Leo Varadkar has said he will speak to Boris Johnson later on Wednesday.
“I didn’t have a chance to hear the prime minister’s speech, I was in the chamber, but I’ll wait till I’ve had a chance to see the written proposals and then we'll consult with the EU commission and colleagues and decide.
“What I can say is from the leaks, it’s not promising, and does not appear to form the basis for an agreement but we'll keep talking but I’d want to see them in writing first.
“I hope to speak to the prime minister later this evening. I expect him to talk me through the proposals, and for me to ask him to listen to the voice of the people of Northern Ireland.
“As prime minister he must act with impartiality and listen to all the parties of Northern Ireland, and the people of Northern Ireland, who voted against Brexit and do not want to see customs posts on the border.”
Varadkar added: “It will be necessary to have checks, but we believe they should be done at ports and airports, but not along the 500km border. That’s our position and makes sense to us.
“No one on the island of Ireland wants checks at the border, why would any British government want to force that on Irish people, north and south?
“It’s much more than technical, it’s deeply political, legal, and the technical aspects are a small part of that.”
He added he believes the prime minister wants a deal.
Bloomberg’s Robert Hutton has noticed Boris Johnson not giving his dad the hug he seemed to crave, and has decided it resembles Hal ascending to the throne in Henry V and dismissing his elder Falstaff.
BREAKING: The government has now released details of prime minister Boris Johnson’s proposals for a withdrawal agreement to take the UK out of the EU by the end of the month.
Boris Johnson’s plan contains a “small number of physical checks”, according to the BBC’s political editor – how will that go down in Brussels?
The PM tells Jean-Claude Juncker in his letter that his plan scraps the backstop.
Mr Johnson is proposing a potential "all-island regulatory zone" covering all goods including food. Such a structure would "eliminate all regulatory checks for trade in goods between Northern Ireland and Ireland by ensuring that goods regulations in Northern Ireland are the same as those in the rest of the EU", he writes.
He adds that creation of this zone "must depend on the consent of those affected by it", and proposes that Stormont be allowed to endorse (or not, I suppose) the plan before they come into force and every four years after that.
The DUP has welcomed Boris Johnson's border proposals.
In a statement, the party said: "This offer provides a basis for the EU to continue in a serious and sustained engagement with the UK government without risk to the internal market of the United Kingdom.
"It will require changes to the draft withdrawal treaty and we welcome the fact that all sides now recognise that requirement in order to secure agreement.
"These proposals would ensure that Northern Ireland would be out of the EU customs union and the single market as with the rest of the United Kingdom.
"These proposals, which are entirely consistent with the spirit and principles of the Belfast Agreement, demonstrate commitment to working with our neighbours in the Republic of Ireland in a spirit of mutual co-operation whilst respecting the integrity of Northern Ireland's economic and constitutional position within the United Kingdom."
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