Johnson’s tricks fall flat as Northern Ireland-only backstop back on horizon

When Boris Johnson made his first appearance in the House of Commons as prime minister six weeks ago, it was a two-hour tour de force that had the benches behind him roaring approval. When he stood at the despatch box on Tuesday night, the atmosphere in the chamber could not have been more different.

The government benches were silent and anxious while Labour MPs, who had shrunk back into their seats last time, were energised and boisterous as they heckled the prime minister. Johnson tried all the tricks that worked so well for him before, babbling elegant hyperbole and taking low swipes at Jeremy Corbyn.

The green benches behind him were unmoved and when Corbyn rose to speak, he commanded the attention of the chamber and was heard in silence. Johnson's decision to prorogue Parliament until the middle of October has been a gift to Corbyn, allowing him to take a leading role in cross-party efforts to block a no-deal Brexit and to present himself as a champion of parliamentary democracy against an overweening executive.

As the debate began on Oliver Letwin’s motion paving the way for a bill to prevent a no-deal Brexit, many of the Conservative rebels were clustered together on the backbenches near the speaker’s chair. All knew they would be expelled from the Conservative parliamentary party within hours and banned from standing for the party in the next general election.

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Here was Philip Hammond, chancellor of the exchequer until a few weeks ago, among a bunch of other former ministers and backbenchers including Nicholas Soames, grandson of Johnson's hero Winston Churchill. The prime minister was braced for defeat, vowing to seek a general election in the middle of October under the Fixed Term Parliaments Act. He confirmed that intention after Tuesday night's defeat.

Such a vote requires a two-thirds majority and it is not yet certain how Labour will vote. The party wants to be sure that the legislation blocking a no-deal Brexit is passed before any election is called and many Labour MPs are wary of any election before the October 31st deadline.

One of the rebels' arguments on Tuesday was that Johnson has yet to propose any alternative to the Northern Ireland backstop. At the despatch box, he suggested that the island of Ireland could continue to be a single regulatory area for agri-food after Brexit.

If Johnson’s proposal is part of a piecemeal, sectoral approach it will be of no interest to Dublin or Brussels. But if it is the first step towards embracing a Northern Ireland-only backstop, it could show the path towards a last-minute Brexit deal next month.

(What is the backstop? What is the Northern Ireland-only backstop? What does the DUP think about it? Simon Carswell has all the answers in this explainer piece. Cliff Taylor adds to the sum of our knowledge with his piece on why the backstop came centre stage again under Boris Johnson's leadership of the UK)