OPPOSITION parties in Westminster are joining forces today in a bid to block the next prime minister taking the UK out of the EU without a deal.
Labour, the SNP, the LibDems, Plaid Cymru, the Greens and the former Tory minister Oliver Letwin have backed a motion that would, if passed, force the Government to give MPs control of the parliamentary agenda on June 25.
This would then be used to start legislation that would prevent whoever takes over from Theresa May pursuing a no-deal Brexit.
It comes as some of the contenders in the Tory leadership contest clash over what to do if the UK fails to reach an agreement with the EU by the October 31 deadline.
Boris Johnson, Andrea Leadsom, Dominic Raab and Esther McVey, have all said Halloween is a red line, and that regardless of negotiations or progress, on the stoke of midnight they would take the UK out of EU.
Raab has also suggested he could force through a no-deal Brexit by temporarily proroguing Parliament – effectively closing it down over the deadline.
The former Brexit secretary told a hustings this would guarantee the UK leaves the European Union before November.
A source close to Raab told PoliticsHome: “His point is that if Parliament won’t rule out what options they will use then why would the
executive rule out options?”
His rival, Rory Stewart, said it would be illegal, unconstitutional and undemocratic.
Labour’s Keir Starmer said MPs could not “be bystanders while the next Tory prime minister tries to crash the UK out of the European Union without a deal and without the
consent of the British people.”
He added: “That’s why we are taking this latest measure to end the uncertainty and protect communities across the country. My challenge to MPs who disagree either with a no-deal Brexit or proroguing Parliament is to back this motion and act in the national interest.”
Details on what the legislation would be that could prevent a no-deal Brexit is not yet known.
Letwin, who has backed Michael Gove in the Tory leadership contest, faced fierce criticism from party colleagues for supporting the
opposition.
Steve Baker, the deputy chairman of the European Research Group of Brexiteer Tories, said: “Oliver Letwin brings closer a General Election which could leave Conservatives holding as few as 26 seats.
“Colluding with this Labour leadership to deny government control of Commons business is unconscionable for being firmly against the national interest.”
International Trade Secretary Liam Fox told the BBC the move was “typical of the current Labour Party”, saying: “Jeremy [Corbyn] wants to be a Remainer in the south and a Leaver in the north.”
“Is it (the Labour Party) actually trying to block Brexit now?” he asked.
“If Labour tomorrow wants to make no deal impossible, they are making revocation [of Article 50] and staying in the EU a possibility.”
The SNP’s Joanna Cherry tweeted: “I welcome this @UKLabour move to prevent a #NoDeal #Brexit &, in the spirit of cross party co-operation which I advocated with my #IndicativeVotes proposal to replace #NoDeal with #revocation as the default, together with @theSNP colleagues I will support it.”
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