Downing Street refuses to promise to respect will of MPs

Downing Street has declined to say whether a Commons vote against a no-deal Brexit would stop it happening.

Questioned at length at a media briefing, a spokesman reiterated Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s position that Brexit will take place on 31 October “whatever the circumstances”.

Saying he could not comment on hypothetical situations, the spokesman also refused to say whether the government would allow no deal to happen during a general election campaign, or if Johnson lost a no-confidence vote in the Commons.

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Asked whether, in theory, Johnson could at least commit to respecting votes in parliament, the spokesman continued to decline to answer.

Instead, he stated that a no-deal Brexit was an inevitable consequence of legislation as it stood: “The legal default, as put in place by parliament, is that the UK will leave on 31 October, with or without a deal.”

The Guardian says the comments “indicate a further ratcheting up of the new government’s rhetoric on no deal” as the spokesman refused “at least 10 times” to outline whether the 31 October deadline could be changed by the actions of MPs.

He said: “It is my job to set out the PM’s position, and that is that the UK will be leaving the EU on 31 October whatever the circumstances. There are no ifs or buts.

“We must restore trust in our democracy and fulfil the repeated promises of parliament to the people by coming out of the EU on 31 October. Politicians cannot choose which votes to respect. They promised to respect the referendum result. We must do so.”

Asked whether it was fair to say that Johnson and the government were not ruling out ignoring the will of the Commons, the spokesman continued to refuse to be drawn.

“No, it wouldn’t be a fair characterisation,” he said. “This conversation began with you putting forward hypothetical propositions, and I have said, ask me the questions about those specific votes at the time.”

Meanwhile, Health Secretary Matt Hancock says parliament can no longer block a no-deal Brexit. During his campaign for the Tory leadership, Matt Hancock said no deal was "not an available choice" to the next PM, as MPs "will never allow it to happen".

However, speaking to the BBC yesterday, Hancock said: “When the facts change, sometimes even as a politician you have to change your mind.”