hello, you're watching afternoon live from westminster — i'm simon mccoy. today at two... the eu agrees an extended brexit deadline of january 315t— but says if the prime minister's brexit withdrawal deal is approved by mps — britain could still leave this year. the eu's decision leaves the pm with a problem. what to do now his ‘do or die‘ pledge — of leaving the eu on thursday — looks dead. later today, mps will vote on his call for an election — with all eyes on the opposition parties — to see what they will do. in other news: instagram is to ban all images showing people how to hurt or kill themselves — after 14—year—old molly russell took her own life. lorry driver maurice robinson appears in court, charged

with the manslaughter of 39 people found dead in a refrigerated trailer in essex. coming up on afternoon live all the sport with holly hamilton... it may be a england v south africa final at the rugby world cup this weekend — so why is there a war of words between eddiejones and wales coach warren gatland? more at half two. thanks holly. sarah keith lucas has all the weather — sarah. frost this morning? indeed, things have turned cold but many of us holding out for the autumn sunshine, many of us have got it today. over the next few days, rain to come in the south—west but i will keep you up—to—date with all the details throughout the afternoon. thanks sarah. also coming up on the programme — wildfires whipped up by fierce winds continue to sweep california — the authorities declare a state—wide emergency.

hello everyone — this is afternoon live. i'm simon mccoy. we are live in westminster. so borisjohnson‘s ‘do or die‘, no ‘ifs or buts‘ pledge to leave the eu this thursday — looks dead. with many here believing that the option of a no—deal brexit is now parked. until at least january the 31st, when the eu's latest extension runs out. so now mps here have to make a decision on whether there should be an election before christmas. and labour? well, all eyes will be on them this afternoon. to see what they do. our political correspondent chris mason reports. walking towards us, right now, another delay to brexit. it will be a short and efficient meeting and i am happy that the decision has been taken. is this extension too long? will it drag on? the eu has given the uk until the end of january to work out what it wants,

despite the prime minister saying this sort of stuff for the last few months. i'd rather be dead in a ditch. come out of the eu on october the 31st, no ifs or buts. we are coming out of the eu on october the 31st, come what may. but here he is, his central promise broken. not my fault, he says — blame parliament. so he wants a new parliament, via an election in december. the last time there was a general electionjust before christmas was nearly a century ago! incidentally, the conservatives led by stanley baldwin won the most seats back then — but guess what? it was a hung parliament. anyway, let's not put off today's tories, it looks like they will lose a vote later, calling for an election. but are the numbers there? well, it is without a doubt a challenging vote. you say it's a challenging though, is that code for no chance ? no, no, not at all, i think there's a good chance we can get this through but it's

going to be challenging. so what is happening here? all of the parties will tell you they want a general election. but whisper it, they want it on their terms, so conservatives want an election but they want a crack at getting their brexit deal sorted first. the labour party want an election but one day no—deal brexit ruled out first in the scottish national party and the liberal democrats, they want an election but they want the government's brexit deal shelved first. let me welcome the fact we have an extension to the 31st of january but i think there's a responsibility on all of us to make sure we use that time to get out of the brexit mess we are in. we want to stop brexit, actually the snp want to do that too but our primary goal is stopping brexit and the only way we can do that is through a democratic mandate of the people. but critics of the lib dems and snp say they've given up on another referendum. i hope the lib dems and snp get back around the table with

those of us who do want a people's vote, a million people didn't march round election, they marched for a new site. so how long until we see pictures like these again? can you come back to me on that? chris mason, bbc news. our chief political correspondence vicki young just asked me how long we have, but you are on! we have a vote later tonight. which of the two dates are most likely at this stage? there are different ways of getting to a general election, the fixed—term parliaments act for the fixed—term parliaments act for the government requires two thirds of mps to vote for it. that is 434 and people—mac. will labour put their weight behind it? the shadow cabinet were meeting for two hours, they do not know what they decided but they need labour votes to get behind it. boris johnson but they need labour votes to get behind it. borisjohnson has said that they would be given time to look at the bill and get that withdrawal agreement through and have an election. a lot of people think it could not get through on that timetable. the alternative way

of getting to a general election is a simple bill which would only require a majority. the lib dems and the snp want that, an election on the snp want that, an election on the 9th of december. and why three days? nobody is entirely sure, there is some speculation it is about university students and more of them will be at university on the 9th of december, where some are registered to vote. many students are registered in both places anyway. we aren't sure what the reasoning is behind that but the government, if they lose tonight as we think they will, what will they do? they have said they will come forward with a near identical bill compared to the ones the lib dems and the snp are bringing forward. the government hope they get enough mps behind it. plus the snp and the liberal democrats, that goes through on a simple majority and you do not need labour votes on that. but what date would it be, the 9th of december or the 12th of december? tomorrow we could know about a general election

and parliament is dissolved as early as friday morning. what are the complications of having an election at that time? apart from irritating everybody, that is what some ministers have been saying. this is conservative mps! most of them thinking they would do ok in a general election but if the public don't hate us already, they say, they will hate us if we do that. of all the months of the year, aside from august, people would say they've got a lot on and do not want to focus on an election. there is that issue and there are practicalities. a lot of people, particularly mps in scotland, say that the weather is terrible and they will not vote but people are motivated enough and care enough about what is going on and what has gone on in the last few years so they will get out and vote. this is a high—risk strategy borisjohnson is taking this afternoon? yes, if you are a sitting prime minister there is the possibility you will end up not being prime minister at

the end of the process but i think the end of the process but i think the thinking in downing street is that he is 23 mps short of a majority and he cannot do an awful lot. he got his queen speech through but he can't do a no fall out. he wa nts to but he can't do a no fall out. he wants to get on and he, like eve ryo ne wants to get on and he, like everyone else, is looking at the opinion polls. there is an expert coming on in this. they have shown that labour are behind. labour mps are distraught at the idea of a general election, they are looking atjeremy corbyn‘s personal poll ratings, borisjohnson‘s are not good but they are much better than jeremy corbyn‘s. good but they are much better than jeremy corbyn's. do or die, no ifs 01’ jeremy corbyn's. do or die, no ifs or buts, and he is not, most likely, not going to get the uk out of the eu on thursday. that will damage him, won't it? that has been his absolute promise. many people wonder why he kept saying it up to last week when it was obvious it wasn't going to happen. the brexit party, nigel farage, during an election,

they will go on about that and awful lot, saying you break your promise, you did not deliver. the counterargument from the conservatives is that borisjohnson did all he could he was thwarted by the courts and by parliament. right, next time you are on i will give you due warning! thank you. thank you very much.