Sunday Shows Round-Up: The Snap Election Stand-Off Edition

Every UK party leader insists they want an election - but this Sunday, as the UK waits to discover whether the EU will grant a Brexit extension, it is unclear how MPs will make one actually happen. 

The government will table a motion on Monday calling for a snap poll on December 13. 

Labour said last week its MPs will not back the motion until the possibility of a no-deal Brexit is ruled out. 

In a separate move, the Lib Dems and the SNP launched a plan for an election  on December 9, with a one-line bill they will publish next week. 

Brussels, meanwhile, appears to be waiting for Westminster to sort the issue out before it agrees an extension to Article 50 beyond the current deadline of October 31. 

So, what’s going on? And what else was discussed during this week’s Sunday politics shows?

The Lib Dem/SNP election plan

Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson called for Labour to back her plan, stating her bill takes away the threat of no-deal via a Brexit extension until at least January 31.

“This removes that threat, so they should be able to support this proposal,” Swinson told the BBC Andrew Marr Show.

Her party claims the government’s current plan - a motion under the Fixed Term Parliaments Act - allows the government to move the election date and risks a no-deal Brexit. 

Swinson added: “This bill is very straightforward. It would set the date for the next election on December 9.

“The advantage of the bill is it would enshrine the date into law.” 

Tackling claims the bill could face a series of amendments, including on lowering the voting age to 16, Swinson said: “I recognise the time pressure that we are under right now doesn’t give us that luxury – January 31 isn’t that far away. 

“I think we have to pass this as it is drafted. We cannot assume we will keep getting an extension to Article 50. We do need to resolve this issue.”

Ministers call it a ‘gimmick’ and a ‘stunt’ 

Conservative Party chairman James Cleverly said the government wouldn’t back the bill and called the plan “a gimmick”.

Cleverly told Marr that Swinson’s party, which backs revoking Article 50, was aiming to thwart Brexit adding “we’re not going to be complicit”. 

“We put forward proposals for a general election first. But also the delivery of Brexit,” he said. 

Culture Secretary Nicky Morgan branded the plan a “stunt”.

“There is a very clear motion tomorrow. If the Lib Dems and SNP really want an election then they can vote our motion tomorrow,” she said. 

Labour repeats its demand over no-deal threat

 Shadow Health Secretary Jonathan Ashworth calling the Lib Dem/SNP plan a “distraction” and claimed its lack of support would mean it doesn’t even reach the Commons order paper. 

Speaking to Sophie Ridge On Sunday on Sky News, he added: “I mean it’s entirely ridiculous. It would need cross-party support to get through the House of Commons procedures and then it would be subject to all kinds of amendments, particularly when it gets into the House of Lords. It’s just a stunt so the Lib Dems can get on the telly today.”

Shadow home secretary Diane Abbott, meanwhile, said Labour would back an election - but only if Boris Johnson “categorically” ruled out a no-deal Brexit in the Commons. 

Abbott said: “He could come to parliament and categorically give parliament an undertaking that he’s not going to come out without a deal.

“But he won’t do that, because coming out without a deal is something that people around him like Dominic Cummings would want because then it becomes not just Brexit but a Trump Brexit.”

What else happened? 

Tory chairman denied bid to weaken workers’ rights 

James Cleverly was quizzed about a leaked document published in the FT on the Brexit deal’s impact on workers’ rights.

It suggest the deal allows the UK to weaken workers’ rights, saying the “UK and EU’s interpretation” of rights could be “very different” and it makes for “a much more open starting point for future negotiations” on trade. 

“Change and lessen are not interchangeable words,” Cleverly said. “So the point is in many areas we have already gone further than the EU.” 

Cleverly said the government had made “hard commitments on improving workers’ rights” and that the UK can in future vote for UK governments that would strengthen rights. 

Chuka Umunna admits second referendum has no Commons majority

The Lib Dem MP told Sky News’ Sophy Ridge that it’s “highly unlikely” that a second referendum would get through parliament given the current crop of MPs would not back it. 

“The only way we can stop Brexit in this parliament is through a people’s vote, referring this issue back to the people, but it is quite clear now that it’s highly unlikely that in this current parliament we are going to be able to achieve that,” he said. 

“We’ve put down 17 amendments in this parliament to provide for a people’s vote, we’ve voted for it seven times which is the number of times it’s been put before parliament and we’ve never hit the numbers.”

Labour backed greater security at ports 

Greater international co-operation and beefed up security at UK ports is needed to prevent a repeat of the deaths of 39 people who were found in a container in Essex, Diane Abbott said. 

“One of the things we are seeing is these smaller east coast ports are more vulnerable than Dover, for instance, which has a lot of very serious safeguards,” she told Marr. 

“So, one thing we should do is look at security in those smaller ports.”

Abbott also warned that Brexit would mean Britain would lose access to EU international policing measures.

She said: “One of the concerns about crashing out of the EU without a deal is we lose access to European arrest warrants, we lose access to important databases, we lose access to Europol.

“So, we have to look if we are out of the EU by that time, which we can’t at this point say, we have to look at better EU-wide co-operation and better international co-operation altogether.

“You cannot stop international people trafficking gangs – if people trafficking is what this is – you can’t stop them without working internationally. Yes, we can try and make our east coast ports more secure, but you have to have more international co-operation.”