Boris Johnson news – live: PM refuses to resign and says he’d rather be ‘dead in a ditch’ than seek Brexit delay
All the latest developments as they happened
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Your support makes all the difference.Boris Johnson refused to resign in the wake of his own brother’s decision to quit the government over an “unresolvable tension” between the national interest and family ties. Jo Johnson also announced his intention to stand down at the next election.
After a meandering speech in West Yorkshire, the prime minister was asked if he would follow his younger sibling out of the doors of parliament but said: “My job is to get us out on 31 October and that is what we’re going to do.”
And things went from bad to worse for the prime minister, as one man politely asked him to “please leave my town”, while another heckled him in front of TV cameras in Morley.
It all comes after the PM suffered a crushing double defeat in the Commons as MPs pushed through a bill to block a no-deal Brexit and voted down his plan to hold a snap general election.
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Former Labour MP Luciana Berger has followed the path laid out by Chuka Umunna and joined the Lib Dems. It doesn’t change the basic arithmetic in the Commons, but the Lib Dems now have 14 MPs.
Liberal Democrats leader Jo Swinson tweeted: “Welcome Luciana Berger - I am so delighted and proud to welcome you to the Lib Dems. So looking forward to working together to stop Brexit, fight for equality and build a fairer society for all.”
Former Labour colleague Chuka Umunna, who set up Change UK with Berger before switching to the Lib Dems, also welcomed the news.
“I am absolutely delighted at this news. Luciana Berger will be a huge asset to the Lib Dems and is a fantastic advocate for liberal, internationalist values and social justice nationally!”
So we have a Conservative campaign slogan. If there is an election. No 10 strategist Dominic Cummings sounding a bit like Neil from The Young Ones here.
Boris Johnson’s brother is standing down at the next election. Jo Johnson hints at a possible rift with the PM.
Boris Johnson’s brother Jo Johnson, a business minister, said it was impossible to reconcile “family loyalty and the national interest” as he sensationally quits and stands down as Tory MP for Orpington.
More here:
Boris Johnson, asked back in 2013 about the Miliband brothers, said: “Only a socialist could do that to his brother, only a socialist could regard familial ties as being so trivial as to shaft his own brother.”
Oh dear.
His remarks came in an Evening Standard interview, referring to Ed Miliband taking on his brother David to win the Labour leadership in 2010.
“I mean, unbelievable,” said Johnson. “Only lefties can think like that...they see people as discrete agents devoid of ties to society or to each other, and that’s how Stalin could murder 20 million people.”
Just some of the initial reaction to the stunning Jo Johnson resignation.
A correction from earlier – the Lib Dems now have 16 MPs, not 14 (forgot about Phillip Lee and Sarah Wollaston). Here’s the state of play in the Commons now, after Luciana Berger joined this morning.
Downing Street rejected a reported remark by chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier that there is “a state of paralysis” in talks with the UK.
The PM’s official spokesman said: “I haven’t seen anything from Michel Barnier on the record but in any event I would completely reject that assessment.
“Both sides agree to continue talks tomorrow after constructive discussions yesterday and we have seen from EU leaders that there is a willingness to find and agree solutions to the problems we have with the old deal.”
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