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Brexit: Corbyn plans to call no-confidence vote to defeat no-deal | Brexit: Corbyn plans to call no-confidence vote to defeat no-deal |
(about 8 hours later) | |
Jeremy Corbyn has urged the leaders of the other opposition parties and Tory rebels to install him as caretaker PM in order to stop a no-deal Brexit. | Jeremy Corbyn has urged the leaders of the other opposition parties and Tory rebels to install him as caretaker PM in order to stop a no-deal Brexit. |
If he wins a no-confidence vote in the government, the Labour leader plans to delay Brexit, call a snap election and campaign for another referendum. | If he wins a no-confidence vote in the government, the Labour leader plans to delay Brexit, call a snap election and campaign for another referendum. |
Mr Corbyn outlined his plan in a letter, saying the caretaker government would be "strictly time-limited". | Mr Corbyn outlined his plan in a letter, saying the caretaker government would be "strictly time-limited". |
Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson dismissed the plans as "nonsense". | Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson dismissed the plans as "nonsense". |
Downing Street said Mr Corbyn would "overrule the referendum and wreck the economy" if he became prime minister. | Downing Street said Mr Corbyn would "overrule the referendum and wreck the economy" if he became prime minister. |
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he wants a deal with the European Union, but insists the UK must leave the bloc by 31 October "do or die". | Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he wants a deal with the European Union, but insists the UK must leave the bloc by 31 October "do or die". |
Mr Corbyn said he would seek to call a no-confidence vote at the "earliest opportunity when we can be confident of success". | Mr Corbyn said he would seek to call a no-confidence vote at the "earliest opportunity when we can be confident of success". |
To defeat the government he would have to secure the backing of a majority of MPs. | To defeat the government he would have to secure the backing of a majority of MPs. |
In his letter, Mr Corbyn wrote: "This government has no mandate for no-deal, and the 2016 EU referendum provided no mandate for no-deal. | In his letter, Mr Corbyn wrote: "This government has no mandate for no-deal, and the 2016 EU referendum provided no mandate for no-deal. |
"Following a successful vote of no confidence in the government, I would then, as Leader of the Opposition, seek the confidence of the House for a strictly time-limited temporary government with the aim of calling a general election, and securing the necessary extension of Article 50 to do so." | "Following a successful vote of no confidence in the government, I would then, as Leader of the Opposition, seek the confidence of the House for a strictly time-limited temporary government with the aim of calling a general election, and securing the necessary extension of Article 50 to do so." |
If he were to succeed in calling a general election - which would require the support of two-thirds of MPs - Labour would campaign for a second referendum with the option to remain in the EU, he said. | If he were to succeed in calling a general election - which would require the support of two-thirds of MPs - Labour would campaign for a second referendum with the option to remain in the EU, he said. |
How have the parties responded? | |
Also receiving the letter were Tory MPs Dominic Grieve, Sir Oliver Letwin and Dame Caroline Spelman, and Nick Boles, the independent MP who quit the Tory Party over Brexit. | |
Change UK leader Anna Soubry, who was not sent the letter, said Mr Corbyn "doesn't even command respect and support from his own party never mind across the political divide". | |
BBC political correspondent Tom Barton said the initial response from the other parties suggests Mr Corbyn probably doesn't have the numbers to get his plan through. | |
"There are plenty of MPs who say they want to stop a no-deal Brexit but getting them to agree on how to do it - that's a different matter altogether," he says. | |
In response to the letter, a No 10 spokesman said: "There is a clear choice: Either Jeremy Corbyn as prime minister who will overrule the referendum and wreck the economy, or Boris Johnson as prime minister who will respect the referendum and deliver more money for the NHS and more police on our streets. | In response to the letter, a No 10 spokesman said: "There is a clear choice: Either Jeremy Corbyn as prime minister who will overrule the referendum and wreck the economy, or Boris Johnson as prime minister who will respect the referendum and deliver more money for the NHS and more police on our streets. |
"This government believes the people are the masters and votes should be respected. Jeremy Corbyn believes that the people are the servants and politicians can cancel public votes they don't like." | "This government believes the people are the masters and votes should be respected. Jeremy Corbyn believes that the people are the servants and politicians can cancel public votes they don't like." |
Shadow business secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey said it was "right" for Mr Corbyn, as the leader of the biggest opposition party, to lead any caretaker government. | |
She told BBC Radio 4's Today programme a Corbyn-led government would only be "as short as possible", and would not try to implement Labour policies. | |
"We think it's the simplest and most democratic way of avoiding a no-deal situation," she added. | |
It comes after the prime minister accused MPs "who think they can block Brexit" of a "terrible collaboration" with the EU. | It comes after the prime minister accused MPs "who think they can block Brexit" of a "terrible collaboration" with the EU. |
Mr Johnson said the EU had become less willing to compromise on a new deal with the UK because of the opposition to leaving in Parliament. | Mr Johnson said the EU had become less willing to compromise on a new deal with the UK because of the opposition to leaving in Parliament. |
He said this increased the likelihood of the UK being "forced to leave with a no-deal" in October. | He said this increased the likelihood of the UK being "forced to leave with a no-deal" in October. |
Mr Johnson wants the EU to ditch the Irish border backstop plan from his predecessor Theresa May's deal, which was rejected three times by Parliament. | Mr Johnson wants the EU to ditch the Irish border backstop plan from his predecessor Theresa May's deal, which was rejected three times by Parliament. |
But the EU has continued to insist the policy - intended to guarantee there will not be a hard border on the island of Ireland - must remain and cannot be changed. | But the EU has continued to insist the policy - intended to guarantee there will not be a hard border on the island of Ireland - must remain and cannot be changed. |
What is a vote of no confidence? | What is a vote of no confidence? |
If the government loses a no-confidence motion, it would trigger a critical 14-day period, after which a general election could be triggered. | |
If Mr Johnson failed to win such a vote, then a general election would be called. | If Mr Johnson failed to win such a vote, then a general election would be called. |
There are no firm rules about who else, if anyone, should get the chance to form an alternative government during this time. | |
The leader of the opposition is clearly a likely candidate, but that is not an inevitable outcome. | |
The Cabinet Manual - a document which sets out the main rules covering the working of government - suggests that the principles applied should be similar to those after an election in which no one party wins a majority. | |
That means that the old prime minister should only resign if and when it's clear that somebody is more likely to have the support of MPs. | |
So it's possible that the existing prime minister would stay in place, or that more than one leader would get a chance. | |
Mr Johnson has a working majority of just one in the House of Commons, with the backing of Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party. | |
What is a vote of no confidence? | What is a vote of no confidence? |