General election news - live: Labour and SNP attack Boris Johnson over cuts in final pre-election PMQs, hinting at possible campaign tactics
Follow all the latest developments
Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK
Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight
Boris Johnson has said he is prepared for a “tough” election battle after MPs cleared the way for a 12 December poll. But some Tory MPs are nervous about the PM’s pre-Christmas election gamble, fearing Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party could take enough seats to deny them a majority.
It comes as leading EU law academic warns the UK will have only “three to four months” to avert a crash-out Brexit if Mr Johnson passes his deal after an election win, a leading academic has warned.
During the final prime minister's questions session before polling day, the SNP and Labour also criticised the Conservative government’s record on austerity and the NHS, hinting at possible campaign tactics at the election.
Good morning and welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of events at Westminster.
PM prepares Tory troops for ‘tough’ election on 12 December
Boris Johnson has said he is prepared for a “tough” general election battle after MPs cleared the way for the first December poll in almost a century.
Following his Commons victory on Tuesday, the PM sought to rally Tory MPs telling them it was time to “get Brexit done”.
The one-page Bill enabling the election to be held on December 12 passed the Commons by 438 votes to 20, and now goes to the House of Lords, but it is unlikely to be held up in the unelected upper chamber.
Once it receives the royal assent, it will pave the way for Parliament to be dissolved on 6 November marking the start of the campaign in earnest.
Tory nerves at pre-Christmas election gamble
Although Boris Johnson reportedly delivered a rousing performance at last night’s 1922 committee of Tory backbenchers, some in the party are worried the election gamble could still backfire.
“It’s like a can of paint. Once it’s open, it’s going to splatter everywhere. No one really knows how it’s going to turn out,” one Conservative MP told the FT.
According to The Times, some cabinet ministers have admitted to anxieties about the outcome.
Plenty of backbenchers shared their fears in the Commons on Tuesday. Simon Hoare asked how he was supposed to tell constituents about the “rigmarole” of a December election, while Damian Green suggested getting on with the withdrawal agreement bill would have been the “sensible course of action”.
In a possible sign of concerns he could lose some Remain-backing Tory voters, Johnson restored the whip to 10 of the 21 rebels he expelled last month.
Some are still worried about the threat of Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party could take enough votes in Leave-supporting areas to deny them crucial seats.
PM’s Brexit deal swipes £1,100 a year from our pockets, report says
Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal would take £1,100 from every person in the country every year, according to new economic analysis.
The annual loss from pulling out of the EU – around £70bn a year – would be the equivalent of the entire output of Wales.
The damage would be so great that the UK would be better off continuing with the huge uncertainty from the ongoing Brexit crisis, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research said.
Our deputy political editor has all the details.
Jo Swinson says she wants to be PM – and her party could take ‘hundreds of seats’ with small poll swing
Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson said her party’s “stop Brexit” message continues to resonate with Remainers. “People recognise our consistency and standing up for what we believe in,” she told the Today programme.
She added: “I don’t think that the choice that we are being offered between Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn is anywhere near good enough.
“Neither of those men are fit to lead our country and be prime minister. And I know there are millions of people out there who are longing for a positive alternative that is looking to the future."
She said polling shows they are “within a small swing” of winning “hundreds of seats”.
Asked if she was ruling out supporting either Boris Johnson or Jeremy Corbyn as prime minister, Swinson said: “I can’t be clearer … Our country deserves a better choice, and I am standing as candidate to be prime minister.”
Asked if she would be prepared to enter into some kind of informal deal with the Tories or Labour without those two men at the helm, she said they are parties that want to “force through Brexit on our country”.
She added: “It’s going to be bad for our country. And they both have that shared vision for the future. The Liberal Democrats have a different positive alternative vision for the future.”
Dominic Grieve will run against a Tory candidate
Former attorney general Dominic Grieve, who is among 11 rebel MPs who have not had the Conservative whip restored, said he assumes the Tories will put a candidate up against him in his constituency of Beaconsfield.
He told the Today programme: “I will run as an independent. I’ve made that decision. I have no idea what the outcome will be.
“Logically, I probably ought to lose. It’s a very safe Conservative seat. And if normal loyalties prevail then a Conservative candidate will be elected against me.
“But I think my constituents are entitled to a choice.”
He also warned of the danger if Boris Johnson wins a majority and forces through his Brexit deal.
John McDonnell claims Labour can win majority
Shadow chancellor John McDonnell has said the Lib Dems “went into coalition with the Tories basically and the SNP jumped ship”.
Talking about Labour’s election chances, he told the Today programme: “We’re going to have a real go at this and I think we’ll win.
“I think we’ll have a majority government by Christmas, so I can’t think of a better Christmas present basically.”
McDonnell also hailed Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn as “one of the best campaigners I’ve ever seen”.
Asked what Labour would tell voters on the campaign trail about whether the party is pro-Leave or pro-Remain, said: “We’re saying let the people decide.”
On the possibility of deciding to go forward as an overtly pro-Remain party, McDonnell told the Today programme: “We’re a much more democratic party than that.”
He said there will be “a range of views” in Labour, “like every political party”, adding: “The basic principle for us, not like the Lib Dems who are just saying ‘we’re just going to revoke, that’s it’, not like the Tories who are saying ‘we’re going to foist upon you virtually a no deal to damage the economy’, we’re saying - democracy, let the people decide.”
He later repeatedly refused to say whether Corbyn will stand down if defeated, telling Sky News: “We’re going to win.”
Tory rebel denies ‘sucking up’ to PM to get whip back
Ed Vaizey, who is among 11 Tory MPs readmitted to the parliamentary party, was asked what he had to do to be welcomed back.
“Well the way I put it is, I had an argument with the prime minister about no deal, and I voted against him to try and get no deal off the table,” he told the Today programme.
“But I have voted with the government ever since."
He said this was not a case of him “sucking up to the prime minister and trying to get the whip back”, but because he did not have arguments with him about his deal or timetable for his deal.
“So I suspect that is why I’ve got the whip back and others haven’t,” he said.
Dominic Grieve says pro-EU group will advise on tactical voting
The former attorney general Dominic Grieve has been on Sky News claiming the December election is likely “to be dominated by Brexit”. He highlighted a point made by many, that we are now “ploughing into an election that’s unpredictable”.
He added the organisation he works for, the pro-EU group Best for Britain, will identify MPs that are pro-second referendum. It will eventually produce a guide on “who to vote for” if you want Brexit to go back to the public.
There will be plenty more on that later when Best for Britain holds a briefing.
Grieve, who lost the Tory whip last month, also claimed Boris Johnson’s leadership has been “horrific” and described the suspension of parliament as a “scandal”.
It seems certain he will not have the Conservative whip restored, unlike 11 of his colleagues did last night.
Tories must target ‘rugby league towns’, think tank claims
Politicos love to come up with the perfect, mythical demographic stereotypes for parties to chase. Remember “Mondeo man”?
This time the Tories have been told to focus on burly blokes in “rugby league towns” in the north of England.
The right-of-centre think tank Onward has told the party they must win over “Workington man” – white guys without degrees in traditionally Labour-voting places like Halifax, Oldham, St Helens and Warrington.
In 1996, “Mondeo man” was singled out for Labour after then-leader Tony Blair recalled canvassing with a voter with a particular type of car. “Worcester woman” was also targeted by Mr Blair’s campaign during the 1997 election as a working-class mother who traditionally voted Tory.
Next came the “Pebbledash people” for the Conservatives in 2001 - middle-aged professional couples who live in semi-detached, often pebble-dashed homes in the suburbs.
In 2003, former cabinet minister Stephen Byers urged Labour to reach out to the “Bacardi Breezer generation” of alienated 18 to 25-year-olds. Both “Holby City Woman” and “Motorway man” were used in the 2010 election.
Spare us from any more of these, please.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies