Sign up here to receive the daily news briefing in your inbox every morning with exclusive insight from the BrexitCentral team MPs back 12th December general election The UK is set to go to the polls on 12 December after MPs backed Boris Johnson’s call for an election following months of Brexit deadlock. By a margin of 438 votes to 20, the House of Commons approved legislation paving the way for the first December election since 1923. The bill is still to be approved by the Lords but could become law by the end of the week. If that happens, there will be a five-week campaign up to polling day. The prime minister has said the public must be “given a choice” over the future of Brexit and the country. Mr Johnson hopes the election will give him a fresh mandate for his Brexit deal and break the current Parliamentary deadlock, which has led to the UK’s exit being further delayed to 31 January. The PM said it was time for the country to “come together to get Brexit done”, as he left a meeting of the 1922 Committee of backbench Conservatives held minutes after the vote. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said: “This election is a once-in-a-generation chance to transform our country and take on the vested interests holding people back.” He said his party would “now launch the most ambitious and radical campaign for real change that our country has ever seen”. – BBC News How the parties are faring in the opinion polls – Belfast Telegraph Triple threat for Boris Johnson: How the Tories could be caught in a three way squeeze by Lib Dems, Brexit Party and SNP hitting hopes of majority – Daily Mail Prime Minister and Opposition leader agree to go head-to-head in front of the cameras during election campaign – Daily Mail > WATCH: PM Boris Johnson sets out why he believes a general election is needed Donald Tusk says the latest Brexit delay ‘may be the last one’ The latest Brexit delay to 31 January 2020 “may be the last one”, an outgoing EU chief has warned. Donald Tusk, who is stepping down as EU Council president at the end of November, intervened as MPs appear close to agreeing a pre-Christmas election. “Please make the best use of this time,” he tweeted on Tuesday afternoon. “I also want to say goodbye to you as my mission here is coming to an end,” the former Polish prime minister wrote in a message addressed “to my British friends. I will keep my fingers crossed for you.” He added the formal decision to offer a three-month delay to avoid no-deal had been rubber stamped. – Sky News Boris Johnson readmits 10 Brexit rebels to the Tory Party Boris Johnson has restored the whip to 10 of the 21 Tory MPs who rebelled against him over Brexit last month. The rebels were expelled from the parliamentary Conservative Party after backing efforts to pass legislation to block a no-deal Brexit. Ex-ministers including Ed Vaizey and Margot James are among those to be welcomed back. Former Tory chancellors Philip Hammond and Ken Clarke are among those who remain outside the party. The move to readmit the rebels came shortly before MPs backed the prime minister’s plan to hold an early general election on Thursday, 12 December. Those who have had the whip restored are now eligible to stand as Conservative candidates at the election if new candidates have not since been chosen. Some of those who have been welcomed back, including Sir Nicholas and former minister Alistair Burt, have previously said they would be retiring. – BBC News Brexit Party aims to wipe out Labour heartlands as it opens door to electoral pact with Tories… The Brexit Party hopes to wipe out Labour’s heartlands in the north east of England and Wales as it prepares to campaign for a ‘clean break Brexit’ – but has left the door open to a pact with the Tories. Senior sources in the Brexit Party said the mood in Labour’s pro-Leave seats was “absolutely febrile” and that they would be ripe for the taking due to Jeremy Corbyn’s vague policy on Europe. “I know for a fact that the Labour establishment in Wales and the north east, especially Durham, are really worried,” said the Brexit Party’s spokesman. “Of course we will have an impact on the Tories but without a shadow of a doubt we can take seats from Labour because in bars and cafes across the country voters are laughing at their Brexit stance – they haven’t got one and that is absurd.” He added that the party’s door was open if Boris Johnson wishes to forge an electoral pact, but until that point its candidates will campaign for a “clean break” Brexit where the UK leaves all EU institutions and then negotiates a free trade deal from outside the bloc. – Telegraph (£) > WATCH: Brexit Party Chairman Richard Tice says an election pact with the Tories is still on offer …with Brexit Party MEP John Longworth telling Nigel Farage to focus on 20 Labour seats… Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party should abandon plans to target 600 constituencies at the general election and focus on about 20 mostly pro-Leave Labour seats, according to one of its senior MEPs. John Longworth, who represents Yorkshire and the Humber, said that his party should be “sensible” and focus on securing the result that would best further the cause of Brexit. Getting pro-Leave MPs returned to Westminster was the most important thing, he said. Signs of a split within the party over the wisdom of contesting lots of Tory seats will boost Boris Johnson’s electoral hopes. Although the Brexit Party is trailing the Conservatives in the polls, Tory MPs fear that Mr Farage’s group could win enough votes to deny them victory in certain seats. The Eurosceptic party has selected more than 600 candidates to contest every seat in Britain (but not Northern Ireland). Mr Longworth, a former director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, predicted that Mr Johnson was unlikely to agree a pact. “I think it is important for us to be sensible. I think we ought to be targeted in terms of the number of seats that we decide to address.” He added: “I can imagine that might be 20 or 30. They would be entirely winnable then if you poured all your resources into them. You probably would not get any more if you concentrated on the 600. But you would also get a better result for Brexit too.” – The Times (£) …as Tories beg Brexit Party candidates not to stand in their seats Tory MPs have begged the Brexit Party to stand aside in their seats amid fears it could split the vote, the party’s chairman has claimed. Richard Tice said he had received ‘numerous’ pleas from Tory MPs. One texted him to warn that their seat could fall to the Remain-supporting Liberal Democrats in the election. They said that they were a Brexiteer and therefore should be spared, Mr Tice said. The Brexit Party is understood to have vetted 600 candidates and will field them in most seats across the country – except Northern Ireland. However, there have been calls from some Brexiteers for an informal electoral ‘pact’ between Nigel Farage’s party and the Tories. Downing Street has so far rejected the idea. – Daily Mail > Simon Richards on BrexitCentral today: It’s time for Boris to pull off another deal – with the Brexit Party Lib Dems bid for up to 200 seats as it seeks to be leading party for Remain voters The LibDems could win as many as 200 seats, according to Chukka Umunna, as it seeks to capitalise on its backing for a general election before Brexit has been completed. It means the party will be able to campaign to revoke article 50 on a clear pro-Remain message in contrast to Labour’s “dithering” over its position on Brexit and whether to back an election. “I would hope we get more than 40 seats at a general election,” said Mr Umunna, who is standing in one of the party’s target London seats of Westminster where the sitting Tory MP Mark Field is standing down after being suspended for grabbing a climate change protester by the neck. The former Labour MP who is now party’s foreign affairs spokesman, has, however, also talked up the prospect of the party transforming the electoral landscape with a 200 seat gain if it can unite the Remain vote. ”We know from internal polling that if we move from the position that we are in and say there is a 1.5 to 2 percent swing we can get up to 100 seats,” he said. “If there’s a five percent swing towards the Liberal Democrats throughout the… campaign, 200 seats are in contention.” – Telegraph (£) Leave and Remain campaigners push tactical voting apps to maximise support Campaigners pushing for a speedy Brexit, or to defeat the Conservatives and remain in the EU, are rushing to create online tools for tactical voting in a general election. Leave.eu has promised in social media posts soliciting donations to launch an app that will advise Leavers which pro-Brexit candidate to vote for in their constituency to avoid splitting the vote and assisting a Jeremy Corbyn victory. The group’s adverts explain the app’s rationale of forcing grassroots co-operation between Conservative and Brexit Party supporters, saying: “Boris [Johnson] and Nigel [Farage] refuse to make a pact, so we’ll make one for them . . . soon we’ll have a comprehensive app encouraging Brexiteers to vote strategically at the next election.” Andy Wigmore, Leave.eu’s communications director, taunted the Guardian journalist Carole Cadwalladr, who has reported on the campaign’s links to the disgraced data company Cambridge Analytica, tweeting: “Cuckoo. You’re going to love our tactical voting app. So much delicious data yum yum.” On the Remain side, the belief that tactical voting could prove critical is equally strong. Gina Miller, the anti-Brexit campaigner and businesswoman, and Best for Britain, the campaign group, have said that they will produce online tools that will recommend how to vote to boost the anti-Brexit cause. – The Times (£) Michel Barnier tells UK: ignore EU regulatory standards at your peril British companies risk trade barriers to the European Union if a future government seeks to abandon EU standards on workers’ rights and environmental protection, Michel Barnier has signalled. In an interview with the Guardian and seven other European newspapers, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator said any British government would face a “proportional” response if it sought to roll back core social, environmental and consumer standards. The EU and UK have agreed to negotiate a free-trade agreement as part of Boris Johnson’s revamped Brexit deal, but Barnier stressed that tariff and quota-free access to the EU were linked to maintaining regulatory standards. “Access to our markets will be proportional to the commitments taken to the common rules,” he said. “The agreement we are ready to discuss is zero tariffs, zero quotas, zero dumping.” While he did not go into details on the EU’s response to “dumping” – ie products made cheap by unfair competition – he said measures would be “proportional”. Government ministers have denied reports of any divergence from EU regulation on workers’ rights and the environment, after the Financial Times obtained a leaked document that said the two sides would have “a very different” interpretation of those standards. – Guardian Operation Brock to be stood down due to Brexit delay Traffic management measures introduced in preparation for a no-deal Brexit will be suspended, the Government said. Operation Brock came into force in Kent at 6am on Monday, three days before the UK was due to withdraw from the EU. But the scheme will be ended “as soon as possible” after a further delay to Brexit was confirmed, a Department for Transport spokeswoman said. Lorries heading for Europe face a 30mph speed limit on a 13-mile stretch of the coastbound carriage of the M20 as part of Operation Brock. All other traffic on the motorway, including lorries carrying out UK deliveries, must use a 50mph contraflow of two lanes in each direction on the London-bound side of the road. Motorists are being warned to allow for extra travel time and to make sure they have food and water in their vehicles in case of delays. Several holding areas to park lorries have been made available if required, including at Manston Airfield. The measures are aimed at minimising disruption and keeping local traffic moving. Operation Brock was initially deployed on March 25, four days ahead of the first planned Brexit date. It was deactivated around three weeks later following the delay to the UK’s withdrawal from the EU, but the steel barriers for the contraflow system and 50mph speed limit remained in place. – Belfast Telegraph People’s Vote staff make mischief in Twitter coup after campaign split Staff at the campaign for a second referendum taunted their chairman on social media as the battle over who controls the organisation escalated yesterday. Employees used the People’s Vote Twitter account to mock Roland Rudd, claiming he had failed to meet them for the second day in a row. They also claimed he demanded the meeting be held in a hotel where he was “ensconced with security guards”. Mr Rudd is facing calls to resign from staff who say they cannot allow “boardroom politics to overshadow the real politics” of Brexit. Yesterday employees said a motion of no confidence in Mr Rudd and Patrick Heneghan, who was appointed acting chief executive on Sunday, had been passed by 40 votes to three. Sources close to Mr Rudd said there were more than 70 staff members at the organisation and called the vote a stunt. Those sources admitted they had lost control of their Twitter account. – The Times (£) Asa Bennett: Boris Johnson will seize his chance to secure a Parliament ready to get Brexit done Finally, the British people will get a chance to elect a new Parliament, after months of watching from the sidelines as it frustrated Boris Johnson’s ambitions to see the United Kingdom out of the European Union by October 31. Of course, this assumes the Prime Minister’s bill does not get snarled up tonight in a last minute row under the aegis of a demob happy John Bercow over which day in the second week of December is best to have the election, and whether 16-year-olds or EU nationals should get to vote in it. Still, there is good reason to believe that the parliamentary stalemate has broken at last thanks to Jeremy Corbyn realising he would look ridiculous in holding out any longer when the Liberal Democrats and Scottish National Party are embracing the chance to fight it out in the run up to Christmas. The Labour leader’s turnaround has been rather fast after only yesterday rejecting an election (for the third time in a row). European leaders will be privately hoping that Mr Johnson does manage to get his election going soon, as they would like nothing more than for him to secure a clear majority that allows him to spend January ramming the deal he agreed with them through Westminster. Failing that, they could settle for the Labour leader taking power – and would undoubtedly relish how much closer he would want to keep Brexit Britain to Brussels – as long as he had a clear mandate which would allow to engage with his EU counterparts decisively. The Prime Minister can only break the Brexit impasse with an election, and one in which he wins decisively. No wonder Labour backbenchers are fretting about Jeremy Corbyn’s willingness to face him. They can see that Mr Johnson will take no prisoners in his fight to persuade the British people to elect a new Parliament ready to get Brexit done. – Asa Bennett for the Telegraph (£) Quentin Letts: Our constipated political class will face an election at the mercy of the real bosses – The Voters When the First World War started in 1914, some optimists said it would be ”over by Christmas”. Yesterday we had the welcome news that our Brexit civil war could be settled by mid-December. Let’s hope history doesn’t repeat itself. For the past three years, our useless political class has pulled every trick to try to stop Brexit. PM Boris Johnson, desperate to end the gridlock, has now shamed these democracy-blockers into holding a general election. It’s a risky move. The electoral system is skewed against the Conservatives. But if opinion polls are right — and if Boris can inspire voters with his optimism and brio — Brexit really might be unblocked by Christmas. At last! Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, after weeks of political constipation, took a dose of prune juice yesterday and, amazingly, reached a decision. Did you see his face afterwards? Pure relief. He hadn’t been that happy for months. Finally he had seen off the shroud-waving, do-nothing, block-everything Blairite Remainers in his parliamentary party — among them his deputy, Tom Watson. They had wanted to keep commie Corbyn swinging in the wind for a few more months. They were still moaning last night that he had blown this anti-Brexit Parliament’s last chance of securing a second referendum. The one unknown in the election will be Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party. Could it yet lose the election for Boris by taking votes away from the pro-Brexit Tories? What an own goal that would be. – Quentin Letts for The Sun Paul Goodman: An election and Johnson’s deal. Ulster will say No No No Nationalists in Northern Ireland are opposed to Brexit, and so will have little time for Johnson’s deal. Unionists have no time for the deal, even though they support Brexit. A December election in Northern Ireland could therefore turn, in a manner of speaking, into a referendum on the deal in which Ulster Says No. Expect the DUP to make the most of the opportunity to get their vote back up. It will argue that its MPs will seek to block the deal in the next Parliament. Loyalists are already rallying against it – on the ground that anything the Irish Government is for, they must themselves oppose. In little more than a week, we have moved from hearing about potential violence and protest from Republicans to the same from Loyalists. ConservativeHome is not at all sure that Downing Street is taking this into account. – Paul Goodman for ConservativeHome Stephen Booth: This is not the beginning of the end of Brexit, it is the end of the beginning Day by day, we appear to be inching closer to the finale of the first phase of our Brexit drama. We do not know how it ends but the fact that the Liberal Democrats and the SNP now both explicitly back an election is likely to be significant. It remains unclear if the Government can pass its Withdrawal Agreement Bill under this parliament, and ultimately an election, at some point in the next three months, may be required to settle the issue at hand: will the UK leave the EU (with the Prime Minister’s deal), or face another referendum and potentially not leave at all? But what might lie beyond an election if Boris Johnson is returned to Downing Street to implement his deal? The most important substantive difference between Theresa May’s Withdrawal Agreement and Boris Johnson’s is that the new deal leaves open many more questions to be negotiated in the transition or implementation period, namely the future UK-EU relationship. This provides both greater room for manoeuvre and greater uncertainty. This means that the next parliament, and party management, could yet have a significant role over the process. – Stephen Booth for ConservativeHome Alex Hall: Why the Conservatives shouldn’t enter into an election pact with the Brexit Party You can scarcely open a newspaper or venture onto social media without hearing about the need for the “pact” between us and the Brexit Party. I fundamentally disagree. You should know that at 7am on the 23rd June 2016 I drew the biggest, fattest cross I have ever drawn on a ballot paper next to the box that said “Leave the European Union”. So why do I, a staunch Brexiteer who backed first Dominic Raab and then Boris Johnson in the recent leadership election, and who believes a No Deal Brexit would be perfectly fine, think that a pact with the Brexit Party is a bad idea? Some of our members have sympathy for the Brexit Party (a few quietly admit to voting for them in May), but others are appalled by them. I have campaigned for many fantastic MPs and councillors who voted Remain. We should never underestimate their contribution. They were here working to deliver Conservative policies long before the Brexit Party came around. We are richer for being a Party that boasts both Steve Baker and Ruth Davidson as members. And, yes, I’d take Ruth over Farage any day. – Alex Hall for ConservativeHome Brexit in Brief Lib Dem MP Heidi Allen to stand down at next general election – Guardian Brexit voters were told to not apply for ‘Grand Tour’ job – Guido Fawkes Gina Miller shut down by Loose Women’s Jane Moore over Brexit delays – Express