Boris’s secret three-way plot: how pm will win whatever corbyn decides

EU ambassadors met today to discuss what length it will offer the UK for a Brexit delay. This comes as Chancellor Sajid Javid admitted the October 31 Brexit deadline “can’t be met”, despite

Boris Johnson’s insistence it would be, “do or die”, since he took over as Prime Minister. The EU will almost certainly offer an extension, but the length is still in question. Most EU

states are understood to favour delaying it by up to three months, but France has argued for a shorter extension. Meanwhile back in the UK, Mr Johnson has said he will give MPs more time to

debate his Brexit Withdrawal Agreement Bill after they rejected his lightning-quick debate timetable proposal - but only if they back his motion for a December 12 snap election. MPs are

expected to vote on the motion on Monday, but opposition parties have said they won’t back the motion until a no deal Brexit is firmly off the table. READ MORE: BREXIT LIVE: DO IT, JEREMY!

STURGEON HOLDS SECRET MEETING WITH CORBYN Labour’s Diane Abbott echoed Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn on Friday when she said the party “was definitely up for an election”, but that they would

need “an explicit commitment” to rule out a no deal Brexit before it could back the motion. While this might seem like a risky move for the Prime Minister, others see it as a plot. There are

three scenarios which could play out in Mr Johnson’s favour: 1. MPs approve an election, continue debating the WAB and pass it This scenario would see the PM heading into a general election

as a champion, and Brexit within arm’s reach. While strategists at the top table will likely be focusing on these possibilities, wary Tories are growing concerned of a snap election

backfiring. Following Theresa May’s failed bid to win a majority in the 2017 general election, there are nerves about advocating another national vote. One MP said the move, if successfully

portrayed by Labour as a political stunt, could reinforce an image of Johnson as sneaky and untrustworthy. An MP said the move was a trap intended to fail with the anticipation that Labour

would reject an election. However, the PM said it could easily backfire. The MP said: “This latest move is not intended to be a successful bid for an election. “If it was going to be

successful, at least 30 of my colleagues would vote against it. “I worry that the public will look at the government and say, ‘Why on earth are they farting about and trying to ruin my

Christmas with an election when they have just won a vote on the Brexit bill? Where have they found these six weeks for an election when they don’t have time to discuss Brexit legislation?’

“The miscalculation here is that the PM might be popular, but he is not trusted. “And this manoeuvre, if the public don’t buy it as genuine, might reinforce the impression that he is sneaky,

untrustworthy and too clever by half.”