- The Observer
6 11.08.19 News
Cross-party schemes
drawn up to prevent a
Johnson no-deal Brexit
New governments,
hijacking legislation,
breaches of convention
and court cases are all
being proposed by a
‘rebel alliance’ of MPs.
By Michael Savage
Most MPs may now be on the beach,
but for those worried about the
chances of Britain crashing out of the
EU with no deal it has not been the
normal break in the sun.
For a start, the holiday reading list
has been less entertaining than nor-
mal. Standing order 24, paragraph 2.
of the cabinet manual and section 2(3)
of the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act
have become the must-reads of the
summer. Family outings have been
interrupted by battles to fi nd phone
reception at various beauty spots to
talk to opposition MPs.
After a week that saw Boris
Johnson and his key adviser Dominic
Cummings make clear threats about
leaving the EU whatever the cost at
the end of October, concerned MPs
have already begun to plan. New
There is a second route that most
believe will have to be tried – the
un usual move of backbenchers seiz-
ing the parliamentary timetable from
the government in order to pass their
own laws. It will not be easy and will
probably require breaches in conven-
tion by the Commons Speaker, John
Bercow. There is talk of MPs calling
an emergency debate and amending
it for their purposes – something that
is not normally allowed. Precedents
are set to be parked.Toppling the government
While some in Labour are pushing
for an immediate vote of no confi -
dence in Johnson when MPs return
in September, it is already becom-
ing clear that this would have a bet-
ter chance of succeeding closer to the
Brexit cliff edge. One anti-no deal
Tory explained: “I would fi nd it hard
to no-confi dence the prime minis-
ter before he had really done any-
thing.” Others, like the former Tory
attorney general and rebel fi gurehead
Dominic Grieve, have said they will
do it if necessary. Voting to remove
Johnson, however, is the easy bit. A
no-confi dence vote starts the clock on
a two-week period to fi nd a new gov-
ernment – and an election is called
if a replacement cannot be found.
Proposing the date of that election
technically falls to Johnson – withsuggestions that he could set
it for immediately after Brexit day.
An obvious problem with the alter-
native government plan has already
emerged. As leader of the opposition,
Jeremy Corbyn states that it should
be led by him. Yet the Lib Dems and
moderate Tories will support only a
temporary administration headed by
a neutral fi gure. The stand-off has
led to an outbreak of what has been
dubbed “Meatloaf Remainerism” (I
would do anything to stop no deal,
but I won’t do that).
The latest iteration of the “alterna-
tive government” plan assumes that
Corbyn has the right to try and fail
to form a government. Then, a third
option – a government probably
headed by a moderate Conservative
such as David Lidington – is being
considered.
It would request a Brexit exten-
sion and call an election. “It is not
a government of national unity – it
is an emergency government,” said
one supporter of the idea. Without
the Labour leadership’s support, it is
hard to build a majority for such anidea, but a surprising number of MPs
are at least entertaining it.The courts
Could Johnson prorogue parliament?
Could he refuse to resign after a no-
confi dence vote? Could he name an
election date that falls after Britain
has left the EU? Should the Queen
simply dismiss him? These are all
threats that have been raised by
Johnson allies – and steps are already
being taken to test them in the courts.
The Observer understands that
a legal action aimed at preventing
Johnson from shutting down par-
liament to force through a no-deal
Brexit, lodged last week, has been
given permission to proceed. A time-
table for the case is expected to be
agreed this week. The case has been
lodged in Scotland by Jo Maugham
QC’s Good Law Project.governments, emergency legislation,
breaches of convention and court
cases are already being proposed by
what several described as the “rebel
alliance”. Many anti-no deal MPs
are also concerned about the lack of
coherence so far. All those who spoke
to the Observer had doubts that no-
deal Brexit could be avoided.
“Everyone has to pull together, and
that is never a guarantee,” said one
former Tory minister trying to coor-
dinate efforts. “We are trying to hold
together an unholy coalition of mod-
erate Labour, Labour frontbench,
Lib Dems, Scottish Nationalists,
minor parties, independents and
moderate Tories. It’s difficult.”
However, details of some of the plans
are already emerging.Anti- no deal laws
Senior fi gures within both the Labour
and Conservative parties believe that
the simplest way to stop no deal is
through a new law, forcing the prime
minister to ask for an extension to
Britain’s EU membership. This is the
focus of early efforts.
The rebels see two possible routes.
The easiest move is to hijack any
legislation that the government pro-
poses in the autumn. Yet the plotters
know that the government may sim-
ply refuse to propose any new laws to
avoid such an ambush.The Queen
Civil servants are trying
to stop the monarch
being dragged into the
looming constitutional
crisis , but there are
already calls on her to
dismiss Boris Johnson
and ask someone
else to try to form a
government should
he lose a vote of no
confi dence.Politics
The proposals
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