Boris Johnson calls surprise Cabinet meeting as general election speculation mounts
2 min read
Boris Johnson has called an emergency political Cabinet meeting amid fresh speculation that he wants to hold a general election before Christmas.
The gathering will take place in Downing Street at 3pm on Thursday, with the timing of an election sure to be on the agenda.
But senior ministers are also expected to make the case for the Prime Minister trying to deliver Brexit by passing the Withdrawal Agreement Bill before going to the country.
MPs backed the bill at second reading on Tuesday, but then blocked the PM's attempts to pass the legislation inside three days.
Mr Johnson said he was "pausing" the bill and would decide his next steps once the EU has announced how long a Brexit extension it is willing to offer the UK.
The Prime Minister has said that if the delay is up to three months, he will make a fresh attempt to win MPs' support for a snap election.
He has already failed on two previous occasions, and there is no guarantee that another motion under the Fixed Term Parliaments Act would be any more successful.
Labour has said it will support an election, but only if the prospect of a no-deal Brexit is "off the table".
Meanwhile, dozens of Labour MPs have said they will not vote for an election because they fear the party is heading for a heavy defeat.
Speaking on Wednesday, a spokesman for Number 10 said: "The Prime Minister wants to get his deal done by 31 October.
"If this Parliament is unwilling to vote for a deal, then we will have to go for a general election.
"If there were a general election called, we would campaign on the fact that we've got a great deal that will get Brexit done."
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