THE LibDems are to table a motion of no confidence in the Government in a bid to force a June election.
Ed Davey’s MPs will demand a vote on the Tory Government after the party won more seats than the Conservatives at last week’s local elections.
The draft text of the motion reads “that this House has no confidence in His Majesty’s Government”.
If Rishi Sunak were to lose the vote he would then go to the King and ask for Parliament to be dissolved, triggering a General Election.
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But this would likely fail, given the LibDems appear certain not to have the numbers to topple the Government.
At least 24 Tory MPs would need to vote for the motion for it to pass, and the Conservatives still have a working majority of 47 despite defections, expulsions and a string of by-election defeats.
In a statement, Davey said: “These local elections showed the country has had enough of Rishi Sunak and his out-of-touch Conservative government.
“The Conservatives were pushed into third place for the first time in a generation as Liberal Democrats swept the board in former true blue heartlands. Yet Sunak continues to desperately cling on to power, holed up in Downing Street until the bitter end.
“Conservative MPs need to wake up and smell the coffee, and back giving the country the election it so desperately wants and needs. The longer this appalling government stumbles on, the worse it is for the NHS, people’s living standards and our environment.”
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It is unclear whether Speaker Lindsay Hoyle will select the amendment or whether other parties would back a LibDem motion.
Parliament last voted on a motion of no confidence in the government in January 2019 when Theresa May survived with the backing of 325 to 306. She stood down as prime minister that July.
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