BORIS Johnson has been warned that he faces a parliamentary “battle” next week when MPs return to Westminster as Jeremy Corbyn joined fellow opposition leaders to unite around a plan to stop a no-deal Brexit at all costs.
At a meeting in Westminster, the Labour leader together with the SNP’s Ian Blackford and the Liberal Democrats’ Jo Swinson and others agreed to prioritise a legislative approach, although a joint statement they issued also noted how they had considered the possibility of a no-confidence motion.
The focus on legislation suggests Mr Corbyn will not immediately push ahead with a move to oust Mr Johnson from office in a no-confidence vote.
READ MORE: EU demands ‘concrete proposals’ from Boris Johnson ahead of meeting
That idea had met resistance because of the Labour leader’s plan to lead a caretaker government; other opposition figures had called for a compromise candidate who would be more likely to command a cross-party Commons majority as an interim prime minister.
Mr Blackford, who described the meeting as positive and productive, stressed the urgency of the situation with the possibility that opposition leaders could seek an immediate judicial block to stop the Prime Minister seeking to prorogue Parliament to force through a no-deal Brexit.
The SNP’s Westminster leader said those at the meeting had committed to "work together effectively to prevent a catastrophic no-deal".
He said Mr Johnson had "no mandate or majority" and the numbers were stacking up against him.
"Parliament must grasp this opportunity, unite to stop Boris Johnson shutting down democracy and be ready to use all mechanisms to block a no-deal disaster, including deploying legislation as a priority," he said.
Mr Blackford claimed he and other leaders seeking to stop a no-deal Brexit said they faced “ideologues,” who were absolutely determined to drive the country out of the EU without a deal at the end of October. “This is a battle, this is a fight,” he declared.
But the Nationalist leader stressed there was a “sizeable majority” in the Commons intent on stopping a no-deal outcome and suggested this included a “significant number” of Conservatives, which ran into double figures.
The Highland MP was adamant that Mr Johnson, whom he described as “an operator,” could be stopped but warned: “If we are not united, we will not win.”
Independent Group for Change leader Anna Soubry said: "We agree we will work together to stop a no-deal Brexit by legislation."
Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price said: "We committed to work co-operatively with every other opposition party and do everything in our power to avoid a catastrophic crash-out Brexit."
READ MORE: How European media reacted to Boris Johnson's first G7 summit
A joint statement from Labour, the SNP, Liberal Democrats, Plaid Cymru, the Green Party and the Independent Group for Change said: "The attendees agreed that Boris Johnson has shown himself open to using anti-democratic means to force through no deal.
"The attendees agreed on the urgency to act together to find practical ways to prevent No Deal, including the possibility of passing legislation and a vote of no confidence."
The party leaders have also agreed to hold further meetings.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel