Boris Johnson suffers parliamentary defeat as Tories turn against him
Boris Johnson has suffered a humiliating defeat in the House of Commons as former Tory cabinet ministers banded together with Labour MPs to seize control of the parliamentary timetable.
The prime minister is poised to ask MPs on Wednesday to support an October general election after losing a vote paving the way for a rebel bill aimed at blocking a no-deal Brexit.
The government lost the high-stakes vote by 328 to 301 – a majority of 27.
Johnson described the legislation, drawn up by a cross-party coalition including the senior Tories Oliver Letwin and Dominic Grieve, as “Jeremy Corbyn’s surrender bill”.
But despite heavy-handed warnings from Downing Street that rebels would face deselection, more than a dozen Tory MPs defied the party whips to back the motion tabled by Letwin. [Continue reading…]