That will be challenged in Court for sure and elevated to the Supreme Court very swiftly.

There are two important things which I suspect will come into focus now.

The first are the promises that were given by the government to the Court in Scotland about sending the letter and the request that should they fail to do so that the Court should do so on their behalf.

The second is that Judges don't only reach conclusions on the letter of the law but on the intentions which lie behind it.

Johnson trying to thwart the will of Parliament in this way just shows that their distrust of him is totally justified and ought to be condemned by everyone, whatever their personal preference about Brexit might be. It's unconscionable behaviour.

It was Letwin's amendment but it wasn't intended to "wreck" it at all. That's just the way the ultra leavers want to present it. The purpose is to ensure it is scrutinised and amend it if needed to ensure that Johnson's assurances are written into law.

It will pass. Be patient.

Edited by Wisbech Eagle (19 Oct 2019 10.32pm)

Not standing I believe - makes it worse.

so hes a coward as well as a s***house then?

Parliament forcing the PM to do something he didn't want to do. I can't imagine any politician being happy or gracious with that scenario.

Your description is how the government want you to see it, but it isn't true. The PM and government cannot act unlawfully. The Benn Act is the law, and not simply Parliament forcing the PM to do something. This is another episode in the "who is supreme" battle and it's one which Parliament MUST win or our whole system is challenged and down that road lie some very dark places. PMs are not just "any politician". They lead the country and are supposed to do so lawfully and with dignity. Johnson looks like a 5 year old throwing his toys out of his pram because he cannot get his own way. How do you think that looks to the rest of the world/

I said yesterday my feeling was that the EU would sit on the letter and the papers seem to agree. The EU actually wants this deal so they are going to give Boris as much time as possible to get it over the line. Besides there is always the possibility that one of the countries e.g. France has had enough so better to be passive for now and hope the problem goes away.

They won't rush because they have no need to. They will await developments but the signs are that if it comes to the wire they would agree to an extension to avoid a no deal.

The Remainers will complain about how he has done it (unsigned) but I doubt a court will want to take it any further. Last night Donald Tusk acknowledged receipt of the letter and confirmed he understands the request for an extension. When all is said and done that's all the Benn act is about the rest is politics.

That might prove to be true. If legal receipt is acknowledged then the only relevance will be the childish behaviour. The Letwin amendment is what now matters.

On Monday Boris will try to bring his motion again assuming that Bercow allows him. The real surprise for me was the margin of defeat I thought it would be much closer. Boris has his hands full the number of Labour rebels was a lot smaller than predicted and the DUP are holding firm.

I think it will pass, probably after a short extension to enable Parliament to fully scrutinise and amend it. The purpose of the amendments will be to ensure Parliament have sufficient opportunities to be involved at every stage of the detailed negotiations and hold the government's feet to the fire if the fail to keep any of their promises, with extension periods written into it should the negotiations overrun, thus avoiding any possibility of deliberate attempts at another "no deal" crash out. There will almost certainly be an attempt to require the final approval of the people via a confirmatory referendum. I think that will fail but become a major plank in the manifestos of the opposition parties at the forthcoming GE.

Still all to play for.

It is, and for some years yet to come.