Boris Johnson news - live: PM will give MPs more time to debate Brexit deal if they agree to Christmas election

Good morning and welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of events at Westminster.

Boris Johnson set to push for vote on general election

Boris Johnson is preparing to push for a pre-Christmas general election after talks with Labour ended without a breakthrough on a timetable for parliament to pass his Brexit deal.

One Downing Street source said: “At that point, we know what will happen. This broken parliament will always vote for delay, rather than a deal. Therefore, if parliament is unwilling to vote for a deal, then we will have to get to a general election.”

Our political editor has the details.

Emergency summit ahead? Macron said to be keen on short extension

Are we all getting too complacent about the extension from Brussels?

According to The Independent’s Europe correspondent Jon Stone notes, the French are unwilling to rubber stamp the 31 January 2020, three-month extension that other power brokers appear to want.

According to The Telegraph, Emmanuel Macron is keen on giving the UK until November 15. “We will see if a purely technical extension of a few days is justified,” said his Europe minister Amélie de Montchalin.

The respected EU analyst Mujtaba Rahman says Macron “has decided that Boris Johnson is a good thing” and “sees him as the best way of getting Brexit done quickly”.

If leaders are unable to find consensus they’ll have to meet for another EU summit to discuss it, perhaps early next week. 

Irish premier Leo Varadkar said: “My bags are always packed for Brussels and packed they are again.”

Lib Dems share Queen’s Speech amendment for Final Say public vote

The Liberal Democrats have shared their amendment to the Queen’s Speech calling for a second Brexit referendum.

The amendment, signed by the party’s MPs, proposes the addition to the legislation: “At end add ‘but believe that your Government should make arrangements for a people’s vote in which the public will have the choice between the latest withdrawal agreement and remaining in the European Union’.”

PM ‘refusing to be held to account’, says committee chair

Boris Johnson has prompted accusations that he is “refusing to be held to account” after again pulling out of an appearance before senior MPs.

The PM wrote to Commons liaison committee chair Sarah Wollaston he tell her he couldn’t possibly appear before her Commons liaison committee because he was too busy getting Brexit done: “I do hope you will understand.”

Wollaston told the prime minister the delay was "unacceptable" and accused him of “refusing to be held to account”.

All the details here:

Rebecca Long-Bailey won’t say whether Labour wants pre-Christmas election

Labour’s shadow business secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey, when asked on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme if the party would vote for an election if the EU grants an extension, said “that’s our position”.

But appearing on Sky News, she refused to answer directly whether she wanted an election this side of Christmas.

“I want a general election,” said Long-Bailey.

Host Kay Burley asked: “Do you want a general election – straight answer to a straight question – do you want a general election this side of Christmas?”

The Labour MP said: “I want a general election … I’ve answered the question multiple times … it’s a multi-faceted answer.”

Burley said: “So it’s not going to happen this side of Christmas.”

Long-Bailey responded: “Well, we’ll see – your guess is as good as mine at this stage.”

James Cleverly claims Halloween Brexit could still happen

Tory Party chairman James Cleverly has not ruled out Brexit taking place on October 31 and said the Government has had to “ramp up” its no-deal preparations.

He told the Today programme: “The EU has not agreed an extension and therefore it is absolutely essential that we make sure that we are ready to leave.”

On the possibility of a nearly election, Cleverly said: “We’ve been calling for a general election, me personally, the prime minister at the ballot box, my friends and colleagues all around the country, for months now.

“The Labour Party are running scared and I can completely understand why, their Brexit message is confused at best.”

On the possibility of a Christmas election affecting Nativity plays at schools which will have to be used as polling stations, he added: “I don’t want to be the Grinch. But the point is democracy is incredibly important and we have been prevented on discharging the duty imposed upon us.”

What happens if Boris Johnson loses his Queen’s Speech vote?

The last time a government lost a Queen’s Speech vote was in January 1924 under the Conservative prime minister Stanley Baldwin – except, of course, it was a “King’s Speech”, with under George V the reigning monarch.

After he tried and failed to get his legislative programme passed, Baldwin subsequently resigned and a minority Labour government then assumed office.

Downing Street has previously made clear Johnson would not quit if he loses today, however.

There was speculation the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) could vote against him today because of their anger over the Brexit deal which sees special customs arrangements for Northern Ireland.

But the party’s 10 MPs are now expected to back the Johnson legislative agenda – boosting his chances of getting it passed in the Commons later.

Statue of Stanley Baldwin (Philip Halling, licensed under Creative Commons) 

James Cleverly denies cabinet splits over early election

The Tory chairman James Cleverly has denied a split in the party over whether to bring a vote on a general election.

There are widespread reports of a rift in cabinet this morning, with some ministers said to be telling Boris Johnson to push for the pre-Christmas election he appears to want, while others advise the PM to hold off and make an effort to get his Brexit bill through the Commons. 

No 10 chief of staff Edward Lister is reportedly keen to focus on the bill, while strategist Dominic Cummings is desperate for that pre-Christmas “people vs parliament” election.

But Cleverly played the stories down. He told Sky News: “Don’t always believe the papers. The cabinet makes collective decisions and when the cabinet speaks, it speaks with one voice.

“That is how it is meant to do, the cabinet position, the government’s position, the prime minister’s position is clear. We are ready for a general election, we have been calling for an election for months. The Labour Party is frightened.”

All the details here:

French senator says extension should be ‘as short as possible’

French senator Nathalie Goulet has speaking about the thinking on the extension in Paris. Unlike the rest of the EU power brokers, thought to be keen on agreeing to a three-month extension, Emmanuel Macron is thought to be keen on much shorter delay.

“I have to tell you we don’t understand anything in the proceedings – it’s a little foggy. It’s like a bad soap [opera],” Goulet said of events in the Commons this week.

Asked how long a delay she thinks there should be, Goulet said: “As short as possible … as soon as possible. If we need an exact schedule I think we need a fortune teller or a crystal ball, because it becomes totally unreadable.”

According to The Telegraph, Emmanuel Macron is keen on giving the UK until November 15, while the respected EU analyst Mujtaba Rahman said Macron “has decided that Boris Johnson is a good thing” and “sees him as the best way of getting Brexit done quickly”.

But Rahman says this morning that the French are beginning to be persuaded against a short extension to get the Brexit bill through parliament.