Jacob Rees-Mogg 'certain’ of 31st October Brexit departure despite leaflets hinting delay

Jacob Rees-Mogg. Photograph: Matt Crossick/LBC. - Credit: Archant

The leader of the House of Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg has claimed he is ‘absolutely certain’ the UK will leave the EU by October 31st.

Despite previously being uncertain whether or not the UK would Brexit by Boris Johnson’s intended date, Jacob Rees-Mogg this time appeared determined his government would leave by October 31st.

Appearing on Nick Ferrari’s LBC radio programme, Rees-Mogg said: “Yes. I’m absolutely certain.”

Asked to clarify why he thought that, he said: “The government is working extraordinarily hard. If a deal is agreed with the European Union, it will get through, in my view, the House of Commons because everyone is desperate to finish this.

“Even LBC’s listeners and callers have probably had enough of talking about Brexit and they want to talk about all the other things that we may do when we discuss the Queen’s Speech that are important to how their lives run.

“We’ve been doing this for three and a half years. It can’t go on forever. We are near a conclusion.

“Parliament, once it has agreed on something, can legislate very quickly. So, if the meaningful vote goes through, then the legislation will merely be the ratification in domestic law of the treaty and that I think is a relatively easy bill to pass if there is a deal.”

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He continued: “You know, a lot of doubters around the prime minister saying he didn’t really want to get a deal and so and so forth.

“He has worked harder than anybody to get a deal and has made enormous strides to do things that were said to be impossible.”

It comes as the BBC reports that the latest Conservative leaflets suggest the party accepts that UK might not have left the EU by the time it has to fight a general election.

In material available in its campaign shop to be used for forthcoming activities, one leaflet says the Brexit Party would mean “more delay” because Nigel Farage’s party “can’t deliver Brexit”.

The leaflets also claim: “Without a strong majority government, we can’t deliver Brexit,” and “Nigel Farage can’t deliver Brexit but he could yet block it.”