OPPOSITION parties could stage a vote of confidence in the Government next week in a bid to thwart a no-deal Brexit, a senior SNP MP has said.
Stewart Hosie said the plan – to put in place an interim government to secure a Brexit extension – appeared to be the only way to ensure Britain did not “crash out” of the EU on October 31.
However, he acknowledged that in order to succeed, it would require all the opposition parties to get behind it.
But while the SNP have indicated they could support a temporary government led by Jeremy Corbyn, the Liberal Democrats and many of the Tory rebels who had the whip withdrawn have made clear they are not prepared to put the Labour leader in No 10.
READ MORE: Historic court defeat for Boris Johnson
Stewart Hosie said a no-confidence vote may be the only way to prevent a no-deal Brexit (PA)
Mr Hosie, however, warned that they may have no other option if they were serious about preventing a no-deal Brexit and securing a further extension to the Article 50 withdrawal process.
“We have to do that because there is now no confidence that the Prime Minister will obey the law and seek the extension that Parliament voted for only a few weeks ago,” he told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.
“If we are serious about the extension, that is the only game in town.”
Mr Hosie’s intervention follows talks between the opposition party leaders at Westminster aimed at preventing a no-deal break.
So far, they have been reluctant to go for a confidence vote fearing that under the terms of the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act Mr Johnson could, if he is defeated, delay a general election until after October 31 by which time Britain will be out of the EU.
READ MORE: Boris Johnson attacks SNP record and says 'no' to indyref2
Mr Hosie said the plan could work if an alternative government capable of commanding a Commons majority had been “pre-agreed” before the confidence vote.
Some MPs have suggested that a more consensual figure such a Ken Clarke or Dame Margaret Beckett could stand a better chance of winning cross-party support.
However, Mr Hosie said it was “self-evidently the case” that as the leader of the second-largest party Westminster, Mr Corbyn should have the first chance of forming an administration.
“If another name came forward that was acceptable to everybody – a Ken Clarke or Dominic Grieve type figure – then self-evidently that would be a good thing to do,” he said.
“But it is also self-evidently the case that the second largest party should have the first chance to form that administration.
“If Jo Swinson and the Lib Dems are actually serious about their stopping Brexit position then they need to stop playing political games, get on board with everybody else.”
Jo Swinson has said the Liberal Democrats will not support a government led by Jeremy Corbyn (Jonathan Brady/PA)
Mr Hosie said that the sole purpose of such a government would be to obtain a further Brexit extension and then hold a general election.
“All of the opposition parties and the Tory rebels need to be on board with a single plan,” he said.
“Yes, we could a have vote of no-confidence, yes the Government might well be brought down, but there is then still the issue of an interim administration in order to seek the extension to Article 50.
“If that is not in place and effectively pre-agreed, then we might end up having the general election on Boris Johnson’s terms, allowing him to run down the clock and crash out without a deal.”
It was unclear to what extent other opposition parties were ready to back the idea.
Asked if he thought there would be a confidence vote next week, Labour’s shadow communities secretary Andrew Gwynne told Today: “I don’t know.”
The threat of a no-confidence vote raises the prospect that Tory MPs could be forced to abandon their party conference which opens in Manchester on Sunday.
Unusually, the Commons will be sitting while conference is taking place after MPs refused to grant the Government the customary recess in the bitter aftermath of the Supreme Court ruling that Mr Johnson’s suspension of Parliament was unlawful.
READ MORE: Boris Johnson set to skip 'zombie Parliament' PMQs in favour of Tory conference speech
Environment Secretary Theresa Villiers confirmed that they would be on standby to return to Westminster if required.
“All MPs will be available for votes in the House of Commons. We will be available to dash back if we are needed for commitments in Parliament,” she told the Today programme.
However, there has been speculation that Mr Johnson – who has been pressing for an election – could allow the opposition parties to win a confidence vote in order to break the deadlock at Westminster.
Whether he would be willing to do so if there was a clear plan to install an interim government led by Mr Corbyn may be another matter.
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