Aides said he remained focused on seeking to persuade MPs to back him, if Boris Johnson can be toppled in
a no-confidence vote – but described it only as the “simplest and most democratic” solution.
Over the weekend, Mr Corbyn’s prospects faded when two senior Conservative rebels, Dominic Grieve
and Oliver Letwin, said he was not an acceptable leader of an “emergency government”.
“We will do everything necessary to stop a disastrous no deal, for which this government has no mandate,”
Mr Corbyn will tell an audience in the marginal Tory seat of Corby.
The choice of words suggests both an alternative caretaker or legislation to bind Mr Johnson’s hands would
be acceptable to the Labour leader if he failed to get the numbers.
Mr Corbyn will add: “The Conservative Party’s failure on Brexit, and its lurch to the hard right, has
provoked the crisis our country faces this autumn. After failing to negotiate a Brexit deal that would protect
jobs and living standards, Boris Johnson’s Tories are driving the country towards a no-deal cliff edge.”
Last week, the Labour leader pledged to call an immediate general election, to ease the fears of opposition
MPs, and to deliver a Final Say referendum on Brexit if he wins.
But Jo Swinson, the Liberal Democrat leader, described the plan as “nonsense”, because Mr Corbyn was
incapable of uniting MPs, although she later agreed to talks.
And Mr Grieve, the leading Tory plotter, dealt him a blow by saying: “I am not about to facilitate Jeremy
Corbyn’s arrival in Downing Street.” – a verdict echoed by Sir Oliver.
Vince Cable said the Lib Dems wanted a guarantee from Mr Corbyn that, if he could not win backing in the
Commons to be the caretaker prime minister, he would support another candidate.
Speaking in Corby, Mr Corbyn will say: “Labour believes the decision on how to resolve the Brexit crisis
must go back to the people. And if there is a general election this autumn, Labour would commit to holding
a public vote, to give voters the final say, with credible options for both sides, including the option to
remain.”
Mr Corbyn will also argue that, while a no-deal Brexit is a huge threat to the country, the UK faces even
greater problems, putting Britain at “a crossroads”.
The prime minister is insisting a new Brexit deal is still possible, ahead of talks in Berlin and Paris this
week, but sticking to a Halloween departure “do or die”.