Scots urged to register ahead of ‘crucial’ General Election

The SNP's leader in Westminster made the remark after confirming that his party will push for a vote when the Commons returns from its Boris Johnson-enforced suspension on October 14.

On Monday night, ahead of the prorogation ceremony, the SNP, most Labour MPs and about half of the LibDems abstained during a vote on the government’s second attempt to hold an early election.

Although the Prime Minister technically won by 293 to 46, he was well short of the two-thirds majority needed to unpick the Fixed-term Parliaments Act.

This has left the UK in a state of some flux. The prorogation means there can be no election before the October 31 Brexit deadline.

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But there’s still no sign of a deal between the UK and the EU and time is running out.

New legislation passed by Parliament which came into force yesterday mandates the Prime Minister to write to Brussels to ask for an extension to the Article 50 process by October 19 unless he can secure a deal which wins the approval of the Commons.

Johnson’s only other legal option is to somehow win Parliament’s backing for a No-Deal Brexit. The government has said it will test the new law “to its limits”.

A YouGov survey of 1640 adults from across the UK published yesterday found that 52% of Leave voters think the Prime Minister should break the law.

Only 28% put the law before the Brexit deadline, while the remaining 21% said they didn’t know what he should do.

Labour are reportedly considering a plan to vote down the Queen’s Speech when it reaches the Commons for votes on October 21.

According to The Telegraph, opposition MPs would then table a motion of no-confidence, which, if passed, would pave the way for a General Election in early December.

Speaking at the Trades Union Congress annual conference in Brighton yesterday morning, Labour leader Corbyn said the next vote would be a decision made by the opposition.

“A General Election is coming but we won’t allow Johnson to dictate the terms,” he said. “And I can tell you this: we’re ready for that election. We’re ready to unleash the biggest people-powered campaign we’ve ever seen.

“And in that election we will commit to a public vote with a credible option to leave and the option to remain.”

Corbyn went on: “The idea that Johnson and his wealthy friends and backers somehow represent the people is truly absurd.”

A No-Deal Brexit would not impact “Johnson and his wealthy friends,” Corbyn said, adding: “It’s not their livelihoods on the line. It would be the rest of us.”

Corbyn said that “a No-Deal Brexit is really a Trump-deal Brexit, leading to a one-sided US trade deal negotiated from a position of weakness”. He added that “a Trump-deal Brexit would be a betrayal of the generations of workers who went before, who fought so hard to win the rights and build the public services that bind our society together”.

In a statement, Blackford urged Scots to make sure they were registered to vote and that they are ready for the election whenever it arrives.

“The coming election will be one of the most important in Scotland’s history. With so much at stake, it will be a vote for Scotland’s future,” he said.

“It is vital that Scotland sends a strong message, loud and clear, that we reject Boris Johnson’s extreme Brexit, which could cause a deep recession, destroy 100,000 jobs, and inflict lasting harm on living standards, public services and the economy.

“The SNP will be putting Scotland’s opposition to Brexit and our right to choose our own future with independence at the heart of the contest – and every vote will count. It is vital that people across Scotland register to vote now, so we don’t lose our right to have a say in this crucial election.

“The past decade of deep Tory austerity cuts, Brexit crisis, and Westminster chaos has shown that Britain really is broken – the UK is not fit for purpose. Westminster has failed Scotland abysmally, creating the worst crisis since the Second World War.

“The people of Scotland deserve the choice of a better future than the one being imposed upon us by Westminster. It’s clearer than ever that the only way to properly protect our interests is by becoming an equal and independent European country.”

Speaking during a visit to a primary school French lesson in London, Johnson dismissed criticism of the prorogation.

He said: “Anybody who says ... this stuff about it being anti-democratic ... I mean, donnez-moi un break.

“What a load of nonsense. We were very, very clear that if people wanted a democratic moment, if they wanted an election, we offered it to the Labour opposition and mysteriously they decided not to go for it.”

Meanwhile, the LibDems have adopted a new Brexit policy that would see the party revoke the referendum result entirely. Leader Jo Swinson told the Guardian their position was unequivocal: “We would cancel [Brexit] by revoking Article 50 and remaining in the European Union.”