The UK is currently set to finally leave the European Union on October 31, deal or no deal – but could a plan to topple Boris Johnson’s government change things?
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is proposing to table a motion of no confidence in the government, once Parliament resumes next month, and serve as a caretaker Prime Minister in a time-limited ‘government of national unity’.
Mr Corbyn says this government’s only purpose would be to seek another extension to Article 50 – thus avoiding a Halloween no-deal Brexit – after which he would call a general election.
He has called on all MPs opposed to no-deal to back his plan – but it has been rejected by Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson and a number of centrist Tories, who say the left-wing Mr Corbyn is too divisive a figure to lead a unity government, particularly after Labour’s anti-semitism issues.
Ms Swinson has proposed an alternative plan which would see Ken Clarke or Harriet Harman become temporary PM. She says they are experienced and command respect across the Commons.
This plan, in turn, has been rejected by Mr Corbyn and his allies, who insist that the official Leader of the Opposition must be the first choice.
Ruth Smeeth, Labour MP for Stoke-on-Trent North, has been a vocal critic of Mr Corbyn’s leadership, but has also argued that Britain needs to leave the EU with a deal.
She has dismissed the whole debate over motions of no confidence and alternative PMs as ‘silly season speculation’.
Ms Smeeth said: “I think there are a number of steps we have to go through before we get to the stage of alternative governments and votes of no confidence in the Prime Minister. So I’m not sure this is the time to be having that debate.
“It’s August and silly season, and so we’re getting this speculation as there’s nothing else happening, but I think this sort of speculation can be damaging to the country.
“I don’t think there’s going to be a no confidence vote in the first fortnight of Parliament resuming. We’ll have to wait and see what new deal the Prime Minister might come back, and what other options there might be, such as resurrecting Theresa May’s deal.
“Speculating about who the next Prime Minister should be is just the political equivalent of fantasy football.”
Since succeeding Theresa May as PM, Mr Johnson has insisted that Britain will leave the EU on October 31, ‘do or die’.
He has also downplayed the risks of no-deal, which many experts believe will crash the UK economy. The British Ceramic Confederation, for example, says leaving the EU without a deal would be ‘disastrous’ for the industry, potentially costing thousands of jobs in Stoke-on-Trent and elsewhere.
MPs have also voted repeatedly against the idea of a no-deal Brexit – although that remains the default option on October 31.
The Lib Dems’ victory in the Brecon and Radnorshire by-election reduced Mr Johnson’s working majority to just one. This means that it could take just one Conservative MP voting against the government to end Mr Johnson’s premiership .
Once such a motion is passed, MPs have two weeks to back an alternative government, after which a general election has to be held.
Mr Corbyn’s plan has been backed by the SNP and Plaid Cymru, while Tory MP Guto Bebb has suggested that a temporary Corbyn-led government would be ‘less damaging’ than a no-deal Brexit.
But other Conservative MPs have spoken out against Labour leader’s proposals. Sir Oliver Letwin said: “I don’t think it’s at all likely that a majority would be formed for that and I personally wouldn’t want to vote for it.”
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