Brexit: Justine Greening to stand down at next election saying Tories ‘becoming Brexit party’ – live news | Politics

Some reaction to Raab’s comments this morning and his refusal to confirm election plans that have been briefed to journalists by his own government.

He said the government didn’t want an election and that a deal with the European Union was in sight. Raab if an election were to be called it would have been forced on the country by parliament.

The prime minister is clear we don’t want an election. I don’t think the country wants an election. We cannot countenance any further delay because it stops the country from moving forward, so the real question is – whether it’s with the shenanigans in parliament and a deeply irresponsible and counter productive bill – whether we get an election forced on the country by parliament.

He was asked about briefings that a possible date for an election would be 14 October.

What we are absolutely saying right now is that we don’t want an election.

William Hague says election is the only way to solve Brexit crisis

Press Assocation has this report:

The former Conservative party leader William Hague has called for Britain to go to the polls, saying the only way to solve the Brexit crisis is by electing a new parliament.

Writing in The Daily Telegraph, Hague said the current parliament had shown itself to be unworkable, regardless of any strategies employed by Mr Johnson.

“We have a parliament that cannot go backwards, forwards, or agree to sit still,” Mr Hague wrote.

“It is unable to agree on the best or prepare for the worst. While we should not blame all the individuals in it, many of whom have striven to avoid this paralysis, the collective effect of this Rubik’s Cube of a House of Commons is that it cannot properly serve the country in any scenario that we can now construct.

“It is the most seriously defunct parliament of modern times. There is only one solution to that. It is the one adopted in each of our serious constitutional crises of recent centuries.

“In 1910, when the Lords refused to bow to the elected government; in 1831, as the arguments raged over the great reform bill; in 1784, as the Commons rebelled against the king’s choice of ministers, the argument was settled by the electorate being asked to choose a new parliament.

“The right course for Boris Johnson is not to prorogue parliament but to seek to dissolve it.”

Hague said he liked many things about the Johnson administration but “a long suspension of parliament as a political tactic is not … something that I can defend”.

“If it is so divided and incapable, and so irreconcilable with the government – all of which it is – this parliament needs to be replaced with a new one,” he said.

A coalition of cross-party MPs are expected to put forward legislation today that would force Boris Johnson to request a delay to Brexit.

The bill, which the MPs hope to push through parliament at high speed if they seize control of the Commons timetable, would require Johnson to extend departure until 31 January, unless MPs backed a deal or approved no deal.

However, Johnson issued an ultimatum to rebel MPs saying that if they were to push ahead with the bill, he would call a snap general election next month – something Jerebyn Corbyn says he is delighted about.

Johnson made the announcement in a televised address outside No 10 that was punctuated by protesters crying out “stop the coup”. He said there were “no circumstances” under which departure from the EU would not happen on 31 October.

Johnson said the backbench bill, signed by the former chancellor Philip Hammond, the ex-justice secretary David Gauke and others, would “chop the legs out” from the UK’s Brexit negotiations.

Today could be a very significant day, as the success or failure of the vote on the bill slated to be brought before parliament will have a huge impact on the shape of the weeks to come.

I’m Kate Lyons and will be at the helm of the blog for the first little while, before handing over to my colleagues. I do a lot of live-blogging and this is hands down the most lively, interactive group of readers I get the occasional privilege of blogging to, which makes things much more fun, so please get in touch – via the comments, on Twitter or via email (kate.lyons@theguardian.com) with your thoughts, questions, jokes etc.

Deep breath in, let’s go!