Boris Johnson ducks whether he’d abide by no-confidence motion and tells MPs to ‘get on and deliver’ Brexit ‘I think that MPs should get on and deliver on what they have promised over and over and over again, to the people of this country’

Boris Johnson told MPs to “get on and deliver” Brexit during a TV interview on Thursday as a major battle looms over his cast-iron promise to deliver Brexit on the 31 October.

Mr Johnson has taken a hardline position on Brexit since taking office just over two weeks ago, which, coupled with his insistence the UK will leave on the 31 October, has sent fears of a no-deal Brexit rocketing.

MPs from the Conservative Party and the opposition are understood to be planning to try to topple the Prime Minister in a vote of no confidence as soon as Parliament returns in September. A majority of MPs in the Commons have rejected no-deal Brexit on three separate non-binding votes this year.

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‘What the people of this country voted for’

But the Prime Minister had a stern message to MPs trying to restrain his plans, telling the BBC: “We are going to leave the European Union on 31 October, which is what the people of this country voted for, it’s what MPs voted for And that’s what I think the parliamentarians of this country should get on and do.”

He was then asked if he was “concerned about disregarding the will of Parliament.”

He replied: “I think that MPs should get on and deliver on what they have promised over and over and over again, to the people of this country. They should deliver on the mandate of 2016 and leave the EU on 31 October.”

‘Unacceptable demands’

Mr Johnson has demanded that the EU modify the withdrawal agreement, something which Brussels has said in “unacceptable.”

MPs fear that this, combined with his insistence that the UK must leave at the end of October, leaves little room for manoeuvre and that an unmanaged exit is likely.

But their attempts to topple Mr Johnson’s Government in a vote of no confidence, something that is a credible possibility given he has a majority of just one, were cast into doubt after his close aides suggested that he would just ignore the outcome of the vote.

Tory former attorney general Dominic Grieve, one of the MPs who is openly saying he’d vote against the Government in a no-confidence vote, warned that would be “unconstitutional” and that the Queen “might have to dispense with his services herself”.

Speaking to Channel 4 News, he said: “The Queen is not a decorative extra… It’s true she has sought to keep herself well away from the cut and thrust of politics, but at the end of the day there are residual powers and responsibilities which lie with her. She might have to dispense with his services herself.”

Another general election

Under the Fixed Terms Parliament Act, MPs would have a two week period to form another Government, before a general election is called.

But Catherine Haddon, a senior fellow at the Institute for Government (IFG) think tank, said that under the Act the PM would not be required to resign upon losing a vote of confidence.

“In terms of a strict reading of the legislation, Boris is not required to resign. It is completely silent on all of this,”

“The onus is on the incumbent prime minister — they get to choose whether they resign. If they do not, it is hard for a new government to be formed without dragging the Queen into politics.

“It would put huge pressure on the incumbent prime minister to resign. We would have a clash between a technical reading of the legislation and constitutional norms.”