THERESA May will meet with her Cabinet today to reportedly discuss ramping up no-deal preparations with little more than 100 days to go to Brexit, having effectively dared Jeremy Corbyn to try to bring down her government.
Downing Street accused the Labour leader of a political "stunt" after he tabled a long-threatened but non-binding motion of no confidence in the Prime Minister, demanding she hold a meaningful vote on the Withdrawal Agreement before Christmas.
But the Labour leader stopped short of bringing a motion of no confidence in the Government under the Fixed-term Parliaments Act (FTPA) which, if the opposition won, could trigger a General Election.
May looked likely to win a vote after Brexiteer critics in her own party and the DUP said they would back her.
But the Government would also have to allow Commons time for the confidence vote to take place this week and a Downing Street source challenged Labour to strengthen its attack.
They said: "We won't allow time for what is a stunt.
"The FTPA applies if Labour wants to put down a motion under the terms of that."
Several newspapers reported this morning that the Cabinet would discuss extending no-deal preparedness at its regular weekly meeting in Downing Street, which comes with 101 days to go until the UK is due to leave the EU on March 29.
The Prime Minister had said the Commons would have the chance to debate her Withdrawal Agreement in the week MPs return to Westminster after Christmas on January 7.
The crucial vote – which was postponed earlier this month to avoid a heavy defeat – will take place the following week.
READ MORE: Pete Wishart: I wouldn't vote against second Brexit referendum
Corbyn told May: "A responsible prime minister would, for the good of this country, put this deal before the House this week so we could move on from this Government's disastrous negotiation."
He said it was "unacceptable" to delay the vote and confirmed he was tabling a motion "that this House has no confidence in the Prime Minister".
The wording of the motion, targeted at May rather than the Government as a whole, would not trigger the process set out under the Fixed-term Parliaments Act which could eventually lead to a General Election.
Labour insisted it was clearly a confidence motion and should be allocated time for debate by the Government. But the SNP’s Tommy Sheppard said it was a “shoddy stunt”.
READ MORE: Corbyn's 'shoddy stunt' over no-confidence vote lets May off the hook
“Shocking by Corbyn just now,” he tweeted. “They know a motion of no confidence in PM means nothing – it has to be a motion if no confidence in the government to have any effect. This is a shoddy stunt.”
A House of Commons spokesman said: "By established convention the Government always accedes to the demand from the leader of the opposition to allot a day for the discussion of a motion tabled by the official opposition which, in the Government's view, would have the effect of testing the confidence of the House.
"It will be for the Government to determine whether to schedule time for debate on this."
After Downing Street said it would not allow time for a vote on the PM, Labour Party chairman Ian Lavery accused May of "running scared of Jeremy Corbyn's no-confidence vote, just as she's running scared of the vote on her flawed Brexit deal".
Shadow housing secretary John Healey said a full motion of no confidence would be tabled "when it's clear to the country the Government has failed decisively".
"It is still a question of when, not if, we move to confront the Government with a full vote of no confidence," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
The smaller opposition parties have tabled an amendment to Corbyn's no-confidence vote in May that they say would beef it up into a full confidence vote in the Government.
The SNP, LibDems, Plaid Cymru and the Green Party have backed the change, laid down last night to trigger the legally binding FTPA provisions.
Meanwhile, a group of more than 50 business figures have called on the PM to back a second referendum to break the deadlock if she cannot persuade MPs to back her Brexit deal when the vote takes place next month.
Senior figures in the City including Sir Richard Sykes, the chairman of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, and former Marks and Spencer chairman Lord Myners, have signed a letter, published in the Daily Telegraph, which suggests her deal is "impossible to resuscitate" and urges her to "take [it] to the British people".
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel