Philip Hammond will vote against pre-Christmas election to get Brexit done first

Philip Hammond has called on Boris Johnson to ‘stop throwing tantrums’ and allow MPs to properly scrutinise his Brexit deal, instead of pushing for an election.

The former Tory chancellor said the government ‘should stop making threats’ and instead focus on passing the withdrawal agreement before Christmas.

During an unexpected attack on his former party leader, Mr Hammond stated his intention to vote against plans for an early general election and said there is a need for the government to get the decisive deal sorted as soon as possible.

Speaking on Sky’s Sophie Ridge On Sunday, the former chancellor said: ‘This is not the time to be holding a general election. It’s a time for cool heads and grown-up government.

‘Parliament has indicated clearly that it is willing to support this deal. The Prime Minister said he wants a deal. These deadlines – October 31 – are meaningless.

‘The key thing now is to get the deal properly scrutinised in Parliament.

‘That doesn’t mean delaying it by months, it means giving Parliament a few days, a couple of weeks, to scrutinise the Bill, amend it if necessary and then we can make progress.’

He added: ‘The Government should stop making threats, stop throwing tantrums, and get on with the grown-up business of doing its business.

‘Just because it can’t get exactly what it wants doesn’t mean it should stop working.’

If Mr Hammond’s views are shared by the other 20 ex-Conservative MPs who lost or surrendered the party whip over a no-deal Brexit, it would mean the PM’s bid for a pre-Christmas election will almost definitely fail.

Mr Hammond resigned from his role as chancellor in July before Mr Johnson took office, warning of the economic risk a no-deal Brexit presented for the nation.

During the same explosive interview Mr Hammond also revealed he will stand as an independent candidate at the next general election if the Conservative Party whip is not restored to him before then, explaining he was unprepared to ‘curry favour’ with the PM in order to run as a Conservative.

According to a poll by Opinium for the Observer, the Tories have opened up a 16-point lead to 40% – signalling the public’s desire to support the prime minister and end the Brexit deadlock.

As the Conservative Party breaks away, Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour remains at 24% with its leader’s hesitation over the offer of a pre-Christmas election seemingly proving unpopular with voters.

It comes as the Lib Dems and SNP have announced their intention to unite and offer Mr Johnson an election in early December.

The move could override Labour’s plan to block a December election during a vote on Monday.

Mr Johnson needs support from two-thirds of MPs to grant him the election he wants on December 12.

Leaders for the Lib Dems and SNP have said they may support an election, requiring just a simple majority in the Commons, as long as it is held three days before Mr Johnson’s proposed date – on December 9.

If the European Union gives the UK a Brexit delay until January 31, as requested in Mr Johnson’s letter to Brussels last week, then the pro-Remain parties are prepared to give the PM the opportunity to have an election on new terms, they said.