Boris Johnson has just 24 hours to convince MPs to back his Brexit deal

18 October 2019, 17:05

Boris Johnson has just 24 hours to convince MPs they should back his Brexit deal in a crunch Commons vote this Saturday.

The prime minister Boris Johnson is likely to face an uphill battle in passing his Brexit deal through the Commons and needs to have the backing of at least 318 MPs to ensure it sails through.

Four official vote tellers, two from Labour and two from the Tories, will not be counted in the majority.

But after a spate of a defections and 21 rebels having the whip removed, Mr Johnson has just 288 Mps - 45 short of a majority.

It is understood he has been personally calling backbenchers to ensure they will be backing the government in tomorrows crucial vote, which has been dubbed "super Saturday".

Mr Johnson has said this is the last chance MPs will have to get a deal, or risk crashing out the EU without one.

He said yesterday: "New deal or no-deal, but no delay."

Ministers including Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Michael Gove, Culture Secretary Nicky Morgan and Justice Secretary Robert Buckland have been holding meetings with the MPs who lost the whip in a bid to bring them back on side.

His former allies the DUP have already said their 10 MPs will not be backing the deal.

The party has been in close and regular talks with the PM, and criticised his effort for undermining the integrity of the union and being bad for Northern Ireland's economy.

A strongly-worded statement from the party said, the deal also "drives a coach and horses" through the Good Friday peace agreement over the issue of consent.

SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford has confirmed the 35 party MPs vote against the deal as it "bad for Scotland."

The Labour Party have not yet said whether they will be whipping their MPs to vote either for or against the deal, but leader Jeremy Corbyn dubbed Mr Johnson's version as "even worse" than Theresa May's.

Mr Johnson himself said he was "very confident" that MPs will back the new deal.

He said last night: "I am very confident that when my colleagues in Parliament study this agreement they will want to vote for it on Saturday.

"Now is the moment for our parliamentarians to come together and get this thing done."

Jean-Claude Juncker made a plea for MPs to back the renewed deal, and Mr Johnson called on Parliament to “come together and get Brexit done.”