General election speculation hit fever pitch today as Boris Johnson summoned his Cabinet for an emergency meeting ahead of a crunch Parliamentary showdown over No Deal.
The PM has upped the ante dramatically by making clear a vote set to be forced by Remainders tomorrow will be treated as a vote of confidence.
He has also threatened to remove the whip from rebel Tories who join the effort to stop the UK crashing out on October 31 – effectively ending their careers. But the government still looks on track to lose the crunch vote – and by declaring it a matter of confidence Mr Johnson has paved the way for an election. As tension mounts on a critical day for the country, Mr Johnson is meeting Tory MPs as he urges them to fall back into line. But the threat to eject them from the party has infuriated many, and there is little sign his pleas will be heeded.
Despite the developing drama, Mr Johnson also found time to meet Carry On actress Barbara Windsor, who is campaigning for better dementia support, in the No10 garden this afternoon (pictured left together). Brexit minister Michael Gove (second from right), Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab (right) and maverick No10 chief Dominic Cummings (inset right) were also on hand as events snowballed.
