After another dramatic day in the House of Commons, what happens next?

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Commons chaos: is no deal blocked? Is an election happening?

After another dramatic day in the House of Commons, what happens next?

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/sep/04/commons-chaos-is-no-deal-blocked-is-an-election-happening

Have MPs now blocked a no-deal Brexit?

No – not least because the backbench-launched bill on no deal could only ever obstruct it as an option, not entirely remove it. But the cross-party plan has passed all stages in the Commons, and will now head to the Lords on Thursday. Boris Johnson has maintained his unenviable 100% vote loss record as prime minister, begun on Tuesday night when MPs voted to take control of the agenda and tackle the bill. It passed the second and third readings in a single afternoon, by 327 to 299 and 329 to 300.

Was it amended to bring back Theresa May’s plan?

Yes – and in yet another curious and dramatic twist, this happened without most MPs immediately knowing how or why. An amendment led by Labour’s Stephen Kinnock, which would resurrect Theresa May’s three times-rejected Brexit plan as a possible focus for any extension, looked likely to be defeated in a vote. However, the government did not provide any “tellers”, the MPs who count votes, for their side, the noes. That meant it was passed by default. Whether that was an accident or planned was not clear. However, the amendment did not stop the bill passing the third reading, so MPs seemed unbothered.

Are we having a general election or not? (NO)

Johnson reacted to Tuesday night’s defeat by promising to call a vote on having an election on 15 October via the Fixed-term Parliaments Act, allowing governments to break the standard five-year period between polls. But under the act, this requires two-thirds or more of MPs to support the measure. Labour and opposition parties mainly abstained. The motion won by 298 votes to 44, nowhere near the 430-plus threshold.

So when might an election happen?

It’s anyone’s guess. Labour is still examining the possible idea of backing Johnson’s 15 October poll in a later vote once the backbench bill has become law, if it is reassured that it can avoid any government ruse to force no deal. This seems to be the preferred SNP option, as well as arguably the one favoured by Corbyn’s team. However, it remains possible that Labour could even then insist on a post-31 October election date.

More Q&A at the link above.