Page QQQ Daily Mail, Wednesday, August 28, 2019
CORBYN’S RAB
He plots to
pass law
blocking
No Deal with
‘coalition of
anti-democrats’
(who ALL
voted down
Mrs May’s
deal when
they had
the chance)
tabling a no confidence vote.
He had hoped they would sup-
port him as a caretaker prime min-
ister in a so-called government of
‘national unity’.
That idea, however, met consid-
erable resistance, with opposition
figures calling for a compromise
candidate who would be more
likely to command a cross-party
Commons majority as an interim
prime minister.
Instead the leaders – who all
voted against Mrs May’s Brexit
deal – agreed to prioritise legisla-
tion to force Mr Johnson to extend
Article 50 again before the current
October 31 deadline. Other senior
By Daniel Martin
Policy Editor
‘Sabotage the
UK’s position’
Labour ministers including Brexit
spokesman Sir Keir Starmer,
Shadow Chancellor John McDon-
nell and Shadow leader of the
House of Commons Valerie Vaz
also attended the discussions.
The attendees discussed ways of
seizing control of the Commons
agenda to pass such a law, as well
as moves to stop Mr Johnson from
proroguing Parliament and to
force him to publish elements of
the contingency planning for leav-
ing the EU without a deal.
Mr Corbyn said: ‘We are putting
first the legislative proposal next
week and that’s what the agree-ment was reached this morning to
do, that’s what we are doing.
‘The motion of no confidence will
be put, by me, at an appropriate
time but obviously not the first
item next Tuesday because I believe
it’s important we get on with a leg-
islative process which prevents the
Prime Minister acting in defiance of
the will of Parliament... [Mr John-
son] needs to respect Parliament
and understand [its] role is to ques-
tion and challenge the executive.’
A statement from the six parties
said: ‘The attendees agreed that
Boris Johnson has shown himself
open to using anti-democraticmeans 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 agreed to
hold further meetings. Over the
coming days contact will also be
maintained at lower levels, with
representatives ‘wargaming’
strategies for how to create a legal
barrier to No Deal.
In his letter to MPs, Mr Corbyn
wrote: ‘As you were one of 116 Con-
servative or independent MPs who
voted against No Deal [on March27] and are not on the Government
frontbench, I am writing to you to
offer to work together, in a colle-
giate, cross-party spirit, to find a
practical way to prevent No Deal.’
But Tory chairman James Clev-
erly tweeted: ‘These six politicians
aren’t trying to stop a No Deal
Brexit, they’re plotting to ignore
the votes of 17.4million people and
stop Brexit completely.’
Paul Scully MP, deputy Tory
chairman, said: ‘Jeremy Corbyn’s
Labour Party are actively seeking
to undermine negotiations to stop
Brexit happening altogether.’
Comment – Page 16BATTLE FOR BREXIT
BORIS Johnson condemned a
‘coalition of anti-democrats’ last
night after opposition parties
banded together in a new attempt
to block a No Deal Brexit.
Jeremy Corbyn secured the support
of five other parties yesterday in his
bid to further delay Britain’s depar-
ture from the EU.
The five other leaders had forced the
Labour leader to drop his preferred
option of tabling a vote of no confidence.
Instead, the opposition groups agreed
to prioritise passing a law to extend
Article 50 again.
Last night, Mr Corbyn wrote an
extraordinary plea to dozens of Tory
MPs urging them to defy their leader.
His letter – to 116 Tory and independent
MPs, including Theresa May and Philip
Hammond – asked them to support
efforts to block a No Deal Brexit.
But No10 hit back, warning that the
MPs were ‘sabotaging’ the UK’s negoti-
ating position and ignoring the will of
the people.
A source said: ‘We are now making
progress because our European partners
realise we are serious about leaving the
EU on October 31 – no ifs, no buts.
‘It’s utterly perverse that Corbyn and
his allies are actively seeking to sabotage
the UK’s position.
‘This coalition of anti-democrats
should be honest with the British public,
they are against us leaving the EU no
matter what. The Government believes
politicians don’t get to choose which
public votes they respect.’ Mr Johnson
tweeted that ‘the referendum result
must be respected’ and restated his
commitment to the October 31 date.
Mr Corbyn hosted talks yesterday
morning with Liberal Democrat leader
Jo Swinson, Change UK’s Anna Soubry,
Green MP Caroline Lucas and the lead-
ers of the SNP and Plaid Cymru.
The five other parties forced Mr Cor-
byn to abandon his preferred plan of
160 MPs back a ‘Parliament in exile’
Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell, Lib-
eral Democrat leader Jo Swinson, SNP
Westminster leader Ian Blackford, Green
Party MP Caroline Lucas and Change UK
leader Anna Soubry were at the ceremony.
The declaration stated that shutting down
Parliament would be ‘an undemocratic out-
rage at such a crucial moment for our coun-
try, and a historic constitutional crisis’.
It added: ‘Any attempt to prevent Parlia-
ment sitting, to force through a No Deal
Brexit, will be met by strong and widespread
democratic resistance.’
Mr McDonnell said Boris Johnson was a‘threat to democracy’ because he had not
ruled out proroguing Parliament to push
through a No Deal.
Independent MP Luciana Berger and
Labour MP Stephen Doughty convened the
meeting. Miss Berger said she would sup-
port a ‘people’s parliament’ voting in Church
House if Parliament is prorogued.
‘I wouldn’t purport to be an expert on
[parliamentary rule book] Erskine May, but
the fact that we come together in this place,
where MPs have in the past come together,
and it has been officially recognised, is
indicative of the fact that it could take place
again in the future,’ she said.
‘Our’s is a people’s parliament. We live in aparliamentary democracy and I hope that
parliamentary democracy will be respected
and will continue into the decades and cen-
turies ahead.’
Mr Doughty said the declaration has 160
signatures from MPs and he invited other
politicians of all parties to join them in sign-
ing the document.
Lib Dem Brexit spokesman Tom Brake
tweeted: ‘Boris Johnson you have done this.
You’ve united the parties in the People’s
Parliament, against your plans to shut the
people, and our historic Parliament, out of
one of the most critical decisions our coun-
try will take; crashing out of the EU without
a deal. You won’t succeed!’DOzENS of MPs have signed a declara-
tion to support stopping a No Deal
Brexit and the suspension of Parliament
‘using whatever mechanism possible’.
At Church House in Westminster – the
meeting place of the Houses of Parliament
during the Second World War – 160 MPs
signed what they are calling the Church
House Declaration.
The organiser of the move said she would
back MPs meeting at an alternative location
- such as Church House – if Parliament was
prorogued in order to push through a No
Deal Brexit.
Senior opposition politicians including
By Policy Editor