Washington Post: “As it did on Super Saturday, the British government will try, once again, to hold a ‘meaningful vote’ on Monday in Parliament on the withdrawal agreement that Johnson successfully negotiated with his European counterparts last week. Britain is scheduled to leave the E.U. on Oct. 31, in just 10 days time. But the terms of its departure — or indeed, when or even if it departs — remain in a deep fog following Johnson’s humiliating defeat in the House of Commons over the weekend.”
Boris Johnson In the Ditch
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Boris Johnson Takes a Wrecking Ball to Government
Dan Balz: “British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has eclipsed President Trump as the chaos-maker-in-chief. Just weeks into his tenure at 10 Downing Street, the new leader tried to take a wrecking ball to the political system and ended up hitting himself as well.”
“This is all in the latest chapter of the long-running drama known as Brexit. In the summer of 2016, British voters narrowly voted to leave the European Union. Nothing has been the same since. Government has been paralyzed, and the public’s dissatisfaction has grown steadily. Two prime ministers were taken down by the turmoil unleashed by that vote. Johnson could be the third. Or could he?”
“Like Trump, Johnson is much bluff and bluster — in look and action. At the dispatch box in the House of Commons, he looks slightly out of place, his hair permanently mussed and askew, his head cocked to one side or the other. But if he looks as if he doesn’t quite belong, he also seems to relish the political combat with Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn and others in the opposition. It hasn’t gone well.”
Boris Johnson Plans Extreme Measures In Coming Weeks
“Boris Johnson’s surprise move to ask the Queen to suspend Parliament for five weeks in the run-up to the Brexit deadline on Oct. 31 is just the opening salvo of a meticulously constructed Downing Street strategy to eat up time and head off attempts by rebel MPs to block a no-deal exit,” BuzzFeed News reports.
“The measures were devised by the prime minister’s senior aides who have spent the summer in their Downing Street bunker war-gaming how to respond to potential parliamentary manoeuvres by MPs determined to block no deal.”
Boris Johnson on Verge of Becoming UK Prime Minister
“Barring a surprise of historic proportions, Boris Johnson will be announced on Tuesday morning as leader of the U.K.’s Conservative Party, and the country’s next prime minister,” Axios reports.
“Polls suggest roughly three-quarters of the 160,000 Conservative Party members who’ll pick the next prime minister prefer him to Jeremy Hunt, the current foreign secretary and Johnson’s lone remaining rival.”
Boris Johnson Under Pressure to Explain Row with Partner
“Boris Johnson is under pressure from a Conservative cabinet minister to explain why police were called to his home after a row with his partner as the issue threatens to derail his campaign to become prime minister,” The Guardian reports.
“Liam Fox, the international trade secretary, said the frontrunner to succeed Theresa May should speak out about the late-night altercation that was witnessed by several neighbors.”
“The development follows two days of negative headlines that have damaged Johnson’s chances of beating the foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, in a race to become leader of the Conservative party.”
Boris Johnson Won’t Talk About Police Visit
“Boris Johnson refused multiple times to answer questions at a Tory leadership hustings about why the police were called to his girlfriend’s house in the early hours of Friday morning following a domestic disturbance,” Politico reports.
Meanwhile, The Guardian reports the neighbor who contacted the police over a late-night altercation between Johnson, and his partner, Carrie Symonds, has gone public with his side of the story.
Police Called to Altercation at Home of Boris Johnson
The Guardian: “Police were called to the home of Boris Johnson and his partner, Carrie Symonds, in the early hours of Friday morning after neighbors heard a loud altercation involving screaming, shouting and banging.”
“The argument could be heard outside the property where the potential future prime minister is living with Symonds, a former Conservative party head of press.”
The Mirror reports that Symonds was heard telling the Tory leadership candidate to “get off me” and “get out of my flat” during the disturbance.
Boris Johnson Wins First Ballot
Boris Johnson has secured the highest number of votes in the first ballot to select the Conservative party leader and next British prime minister, the BBC reports.
Johnson received 114 votes, Jeremy Hunt was second with 43, and Michael Gove third with 37 votes.
Boris Johnson Hung Up on Trump
Boris Johnson told the Sunday Times that when President Trump tried to call him during his recent U.K. trip, he thought it was a prank and hung up the phone.
The two men did eventually speak and Johnson said that Trump “not only wished me well but was very keen to intensify our economic co-operation and to do a free trade deal.”
Boris Johnson Turned Down Trump Meeting
“Donald Trump asked for a meeting with Boris Johnson during his U.K. visit, but was turned down,” Politico reports.
“According to an official close to Johnson, the U.S. president called the former foreign secretary and suggested they have a one-to-one meeting. The official said that Johnson thanked Trump but declined the invitation as he had to prepare for a Tory leadership campaign event.”
Trump Might Meet with Boris Johnson, Nigel Farage
President Trump said he might meet with Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage, pro-Brexit politicians who now are vying to replace Prime Minister Theresa May, when he visits the UK next week, Politico reports.
Trump told reporters that he considers Johnson and Farage to be “very good guys” and “very interesting people.” But he refrained from offering support to either candidate.
Boris Johnson Ordered to Appear In Court
Former U.K. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has been ordered to appear in court over allegations that he lied when he said the U.K. gave the European Union £350 million per week during the 2016 Brexit referendum campaign, the BBC reports.
Axios: “The summons does not provide great optics for Johnson, who is a frontrunner to replace Theresa May as leader of the Conservative Party and become the country’s next prime minister.”
Boris Johnson Will Stand for Prime Minister
Former foreign secretary Boris Johnson told the BBC that he plans to stand to replace British prime minister Theresa May once she fulfills her pledge to step down after a deal on Brexit is reached.
Said Johnson: “Of course I’m going to go for it.”
Axios: “Of course, May hasn’t stepped down — and her pledge to do so was contingent on her Brexit deal getting through Parliament. Some members of the Conservative Party are worried she may have gotten cold feet.”
Bannon Plots with Boris Johnson
“Donald Trump’s former chief adviser Steve Bannon has been in direct communication with former UK foreign secretary Boris Johnson, as both men plot new moves that could have a significant impact on European politics,” multiple sources told BuzzFeed News.
“A source who spent time with Bannon during the trip said Bannon was in private contact with Johnson while he was in Britain… A former UK government source told BuzzFeed News that Bannon and Johnson have known each other for some time, and exchanged text messages as far back as when Johnson was foreign secretary and Bannon worked in the White House.”
British Foreign Secretary Quits Over Brexit Discord
“Boris Johnson resigned as Britain’s foreign secretary on Monday, becoming the second cabinet minister to quit in less than 24 hours in protest over plans from Prime Minister Theresa May to soften the economic impact of British withdrawal from the European Union,” the New York Times reports.
“Mr. Johnson’s departure followed that of David Davis, who quit as Brexit secretary late Sunday, and deepens the mood of crisis gripping Mrs. May’s government three days after she thought she had won agreement from her cabinet on a Brexit plan.”
The BBC says Johnson’s exit had turned an “embarrassing and difficult situation for the PM into potentially a full-blown crisis.”
Bonus Quote of the Day
“To the best of my knowledge, both Nicolae Ceaușescu and Robert Mugabe have been entertained by Her Majesty the Queen, and I think most Members would concede that it is our duty and the right thing to do to make preparations now for receiving our friend, our partner, the leader of a long-established great democracy and our most important ally.”
— British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson, quoted by the Press Association, defending the invitation to President Trump to speak to the House of Commons.
Theresa May Forms a New U.K. Government
“After a transfer of power of startling speed, Theresa May took office as Britain’s prime minister on Wednesday afternoon, promising to honor last month’s referendum to leave the European Union, but also to heal some of the divisions that the vote exposed, and to create an economy that works for everyone, not just the “privileged few,'” the New York Times reports.
“Ms. May had supported Britain’s remaining in the European Union, but tepidly, and she promised to respect the outcome of the June 23 vote.”
The Telegraph reports that May has chosen Boris Johnson, who led the effort to leave the European Union, as Foreign Secretary.