THE WAUGH ZONE

By Paul Waugh. 7 October 2019.

Manner, the people

There comes a moment in some No.10 Lobby briefings when we hacks know that we are getting a very carefully calibrated government line. After the to-and-fro over a vexed issue, the PM’s official spokesman will turn wearily to his big black folder and read out a phrase that reeks of hours of huddled meetings in Downing Street. It’s not quite the Gospel according St Boris, but you know it’s their latest formulation on A Big Policy Issue.

Today, when asked how Boris Johnson would comply with the Hilary Benn Act (that forces a Brexit delay beyond October 31), the black folder was opened once more. First we got the usual political oxymoron of ‘yes, the PM will comply with the law and we will be leaving on October 31’. But then we got something new: “The manner in which this policy is lawfully achieved is a matter for the government.”

Does that word ‘manner’ provide the wriggle room that many Tory MPs and Leave voters have been hoping for? Although the act is specific that it would require the prime minister to write a letter to the EU requesting an extension, could some other formal figure like cabinet secretary Sir Mark Sedwill write the letter on the PM’s behalf? Could that give him a better chance of telling voters his ‘do or die’ pledge was broken but his hands were tied? Johnson was doing his 'man of the people' thing at yet another NHS hospital today and he clear won't give up that mantle on Brexit.

Of course, the Benn Act's compliance won’t just be ‘a matter for the government’, it will be a matter for the courts. Some Johnson allies can’t wait to bog the whole thing down in legal action in that tight window from October 19 (when Benn kicks in) and Halloween. The whole issue will get a reheat again tomorrow in the Scottish Court of Session.

What was notable about today was that parliament clearly felt confident that the Benn Act is so watertight that there’s no need - yet - to draft any fresh emergency legislation in case the PM pulls a fast one.

This morning confirmed again that the opposition parties are split over other issues, most obviously whether Jeremy Corbyn should be the caretaker PM after a vote of no confidence. But they are doggedly united in seeing the Benn Act as robust. I’m told there's a consensus that there will be no push for any other safeguards this side of the EU summit on October 17-18.

And although the government nominally won its case in the Scottish Court of Session today, judge Lord Pentland’s written ruling had a very stern warning. “There can be no doubt”, he wrote, that Johnson “now accepts that he must comply with the requirements of the 2019 Act and has affirmed that he intends to do so”.

Pentland’s extra caveat was even more notable, and must have sent a shiver down the spine of attorney general Geoffrey Cox (who has been pushing hard for the law to be complied with): “It would be destructive of one of the core principles of constitutional propriety and of the mutual trust that is the bedrock of the relationship between the court and the crown, for the prime minister or the government, to renege on what they have assured the court that the prime minister intends to do.”

Mutual trust? Constitutional propriety? They are not concepts that either side in the Brexit Wars thinks their opponents adhere to these days. Many Leaver Tories think that the Speaker and Dominic Grieve and co have torn up parliamentary convention, as well as the fundamental democratic principle that referendum results have to be upheld. Remainers counter that illegal prorogations and bespoke ‘manners’ of complying with the law are the real crimes against the constitution.

Although some procedural ambushes may be tried tomorrow (and the PM is bound to have a proto-Queen’s Speech moment on domestic policy), the real showdown won’t take place this week. But just because the ‘Rebel Alliance’ are keeping their powder dry doesn’t mean there aren’t lots of avenues open to them too. Don’t forget they spent the entire summer wargaming this. So far their main weapon has proved remarkably resilient, but they have ammunition in reserve, if needed.

A Bit Of Housekeeping

We're updating our email newsletter system over the next few weeks so you may run into problems receiving the Waugh Zone. If you do, please check your spam or junk folder, or email us at dailybrief@huffpost.com.

Thanks, and we apologise for any inconvenience.

Quote Of The Day

“And it was like, ‘Ok well you’re here, you’ve got five minutes'.”

Jennifer Arcuri on how she reacted when Boris Johnson turned up late to her flat.

Monday Cheat Sheet

Businesswoman Jennifer Arcuri repeatedly refused to say whether she had Boris Johnson were lovers. But she did tell Good Morning Britain that they “immediately bonded” over a “mutual love of classic literature and particularly Shakespeare”.

Arcuri said she kept Johnson's phone number secret by listing it under ‘Alexander the Great’ (don’t forget his first name is Alexander). Labour said any friendship, regardless of whether it was sexual, proved Johnson failed to declare an interest as City Hall rules required.

Boris Johnson said he would “personally” call on Donald Trump to waive diplomatic immunity for an American woman wanted over the killing of teenager Harry Dunn in a car crash back in the UK. The case will be raised first by Dominic Raab with his US counterpart Mike Pompeo.

Bruno Bonnell, a French MP in president Emmanuel Macron's party En Marche! said Johnson's Brexit proposals are 'almost like a joke'.

More than 100 people were arrested on the first day of Extinction Rebellion’s mass protest in London. Activists are attempting to shutdown Westminster for two weeks in a bid to force government departments to outline their plans to tackle the climate emergency.

MP Stephen Hepburn was suspended by Labour pending an investigation into claims that he sexually harassed a female party member.

Donald Trump seemed to realise there was a severe backlash to his plan to withdraw from northern Syria and give Turkey potential power to wipe out Kurdish rebels. He said he would “totally destroy and obliterate” the Turkish economy if Ankara abused the licence he had given it.

What I'm Reading

Who Emits The Most CO2 Today? - Our World In Data (check out the interactive graphic - apt given the protests today).

Got A Tip?

Send tips, stories, quotes, pics, plugs or gossip to waugh.zone@huffpost.com.

🔊 Subscribe To Commons People

Each week, the HuffPost UK Politics team unpack the biggest stories from Westminster and beyond. Search for Commons People wherever you listen to podcasts and subscribe.

Subscribe to Commons People now.

Did someone forward the Waugh Zone to you? Subscribe here.

HuffPost is now a part of Verizon. On 25 May 2018 we introduced a new Privacy Policy which explains how your data is used and shared.