DESPITE winning the support of Ian Blackford and his 34 SNP MPs, Jeremy Corbyn’s plot to overthrow Boris Johnson’s Tory government looks likely to fail.
There was no mention of indyref2 when the Labour and SNP leaders spoke on the phone yesterday, with the two men focusing entirely on how to prevent a No-Deal Brexit on October 31.
An SNP spokesman said the discussion had been “constructive”.
“The SNP has consistently worked across party lines to prevent the threat posed by Brexit, and we will continue to work with others in preventing the greatest act of self-harm to our economy,” he said.
On Wednesday Corbyn wrote to most party leaders and a handful of Tory rebels saying he wanted to oust Johnson’s administration in a vote of no confidence in which would be carried out in September.
He would then step into the breach to become a strictly “time-limited caretaker Prime Minister” who would delay the UK leaving the EU on October 31 and call a general election.
The SNP, Plaid and the Greens have all indicated their support. However, LibDem leader Jo Swinson has refused to back any plan that put Corbyn in Downing Street, albeit briefly.
Swinson was criticised by a number of pro-remain politicians for her stance. She appeared to back down on Thursday afternoon, saying she would now meet with the Labour chief.
“I’ve always said I wanted to talk to him about it, and I think that dialogue is really important between anyone who wants to stop a No-Deal Brexit,” she told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme yesterday.
Swinson insisted that the job would be better held by veteran MPs Ken Clarke or Harriet Harman.
“I have been in touch with them because obviously, you don’t just mention people’s names without checking that they’re OK with that,” she said.
“They put public duty first, and they don’t want to see a No-Deal Brexit and if the House of Commons asks them to lead an emergency government to get our country out of this Brexit mess and to stop us driving off that cliff to a No Deal, then yes, they are prepared to do that and I think that is to their credit.”
Corbyn told the PA news agency: “It’s not up to Jo Swinson to choose candidates, it’s not up to Jo Swinson to decide who the next prime minister is going to be.
He added that if she didn’t back him, then she would be propping up Johnson’s government.
“Surely she must recognise she is a leader of one of the opposition parties who are apparently opposed to this Government and apparently prepared to support a motion of no confidence. I look forward to joining her in the lobbies to vote this Government down.”
Corbyn said Swinson should respect the “normal precedent” to allow the leader of the Opposition to form an administration after a successful vote of no confidence in the Government. The Labour leader’s plan was all but killed off when Remain backing Tory MPs distanced themselves from it.
Former Attorney General Dominic Grieve said: “Jeremy Corbyn is, unfortunately, a deeply divisive figure and in trying to stop a No-Deal Brexit it is not my purpose to help him into Downing Street.”
Elsewhere, leaked German government papers revealed Berlin now expected Britain to leave on No-Deal terms on October 31.
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