Three leading Tory Remainer MPs sparked the fury of their pro-Brexit colleagues and risked their future in the Conservative Party today after they agreed to meet with Jeremy Corbyn to discuss how to block a No Deal divorce from the EU.
Mr Corbyn sent a letter to opposition leaders and a handful of senior Europhile Conservative MPs last night urging them to help him topple Boris Johnson and become caretaker PM to delay Brexit beyond October 31.
The proposal has been given short shrift by Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson who called the plan ‘nonsense’ but a trio of Tories have agreed to face-to-face talks with Mr Corbyn.
Dominic Grieve, Dame Caroline Spelman and Sir Oliver Letwin reportedly said in a written response to Mr Corbyn: ‘We agree that our common priority should be to work together in Parliament to prevent No Deal Brexit and welcome your invitation to discuss the different ways that this might be achieved.
‘We would be happy to meet with you as well as colleagues from other opposition parties whenever convenient in the weeks before Parliament returns.’
Former Tory and now independent MP Nick Boles has also agreed to attend the talks.
The three Tory MPs are unlikely to face any formal rebuke at this stage simply for talking to opposition MPs. Only a concrete action like voting against the government in the Commons is likely to prompt disciplinary proceedings.
But their openness in agreeing to discussions shows the precarious position Boris Johnson could find himself in as he seeks to get Brexit done on October 31.
Tory Brexiteers delivered an ultimatum to the trio and said they must choose between backing Mr Johnson and leaving the party.
It came as Mr Corbyn was accused of ‘surrendering’ to the SNP as he said a Labour government would not block a second Scottish independence referendum.
Jeremy Corbyn, pictured outlining his plans on Sky News today, has invited opposition leaders and Tory rebels to work with him to oust Boris Johnson
Dominic Grieve (pictured in July) is one of three sitting Tory MPs along with Dame Caroline Spelman and Sir Oliver Letwin to have agreed to meet with Jeremy Corbyn to discuss his anti-No Deal plans
The letter sent by Jeremy Corbyn setting out how he intends to stop a No Deal Brexit
Corbyn: Labour would not block second Scottish independence referendum
Jeremy Corbyn said today a Labour government would not block a second referendum on Scottish independence in a move likely to spark a fierce backlash among the party’s MPs.
The Labour leader said he did not believe a second vote on leaving the UK would be a good idea and he would advise against holding one.
But he insisted MPs in Westminster should not stand in the way if Scotland wanted another public vote on the issue.
Scottish Conservatives immediately accused Mr Corbyn of ‘surrendering’ to Nicola Sturgeon in a bid to secure SNP support for a future Labour-led government.
The SNP leader welcomed Mr Corbyn’s comments and said: ‘I’m not Jeremy Corbyn’s biggest fan but on this he’s right’.
Mr Corbyn’s remarks came after shadow chancellor John McDonnell said earlier this month that a Labour government would not block a future referendum on Scottish independence.
Labour in Scotland has campaigned against holding a second public vote with the party’s Scottish leader Richard Leonard having previously indicated it would refuse to grant Holyrood the power to stage one.
Scotland voted in 2014 to remain part of the UK by 55 per cent to 45 per cent. Ms Sturgeon has indicated she wants to hold a second vote before 2021.
Mr Corbyn was asked today if he agreed with Mr McDonnell’s statement and he replied: ‘It’s not up to Parliament to block it, but it’s up to Parliament to make a point about whether it’s a good idea or not.
‘I do not think it’s a good idea.’
While committing to a meeting with Mr Corbyn, the rebels did not discuss supporting a vote of no confidence against Mr Johnson – a move which would almost certainly result in them losing the Conservative whip.
Dame Caroline later clarified that she would be unwilling to support a temporary government led by Mr Corbyn in any circumstances, according to Sky News.
The fact that sitting Tory MPs are willing to meet with Mr Corbyn to discuss how to thwart Mr Johnson’s ‘do or die’ Brexit pledge to take Britain out of the EU by October 31 with or without a deal has prompted an angry backlash.
One Conservative Brexiteer told MailOnline: ‘The whole ambition for a Conservative should be to stop Jeremy Corbyn, not to stop Brexit. That’s the problem.
‘Stopping a No Deal Brexit is basically stopping Brexit and that is what they want.
‘To weaken the leverage of the Prime Minister in this negotiation only brings a smile to Michel Barnier’s face.
‘They should not be talking to Jeremy Corbyn. The test is going to be this: If they vote with Jeremy Corbyn to undermine the negotiating position of Boris Johnson they should go.
‘If these people talk to the Labour Party their constituents would be horrified. They should know who the enemy is. It is ludicrous.’
Another Tory Eurosceptic said: ‘I find it extraordinary that they can be working with the Leader of the Opposition, particularly Jeremy Corbyn because of his extreme left wing views.
‘Boris Johnson has just won a Tory leadership contest on the very issue they are complaining about.
‘They should be supporting the PM and having nothing to do with the Leader of the Opposition.
‘They either have to get behind Boris Johnson or they have to leave the party.’
The parliamentary maths that could put Jeremy Corbyn in Downing Street and delay Brexit
Jeremy Corbyn’s plan hinges on a vote of no confidence in Boris Johnson’s Government being successful.
He is planning to potentially call such a vote within days of Parliament returning in September.
After a series of defections and election defeats, the Prime Minister’s majority in the Commons is just one, meaning a tiny rebellion by Remainer Tories could sweep him from No 10 just weeks after getting his key in the door.
Under the Fixed Term Parliaments Act (FTPA), losing a confidence motion triggers a 14 day countdown to an election being called.
During that period it is possible for a prime minister to win a confidence vote and prevent the country going to the polls.
But the same is true of the Opposition leader or indeed any unity candidate that can command enough backing.
Some 650 MPs sit in the Commons. Excluding Sinn Fein’s seven who do not take their seats and the Speaker and three deputies who do not vote, a majority is 320.
Mr Johnson has 311 Tory MPs plus the support of the 10 Democratic Unionist Party parliamentarians, taking him to 321.
This majority of one is set against perhaps half a dozen Labour MPs who back Leave and who do not want it to be delayed and may vote against Jeremy Corbyn or any leader aiming to postpone Brexit.
The question is how many Tories are ready to back a no confidence vote by Mr Corbyn or allow him to become prime minister.
It is a drastic option that would end the careers of any Conservative MPs who join, but only a PM can request an extension to the Article 50 process, and the legal default currently is that the UK leaves at Halloween with or without an agreement.
Mr Johnson yesterday took aim at Remainer MPs who he accused of ‘collaborating’ with the EU to stop Brexit.
That prompted Tory MP Guto Bebb to accuse Mr Johnson of putting MPs’ safety at risk.
In Mr Corbyn’s letter to senior MPs, he urged them to support a vote of no confidence against Mr Johnson’s administration and then install the Labour leader temporarily in Number 10.
He said: ‘Following a successful vote of no confidence in the government, I would then, as Leader of the Opposition, seek the confidence of the House for a strictly time-limited temporary government with the aim of calling a general election, and securing the necessary extension of Article 50 to do so.
‘In that general election, Labour will be committed to a public vote on the terms of leaving the European Union, including an option to Remain.’
Mr Corbyn said he hoped his plan would ‘halt the serious threat of No Deal, end the uncertainty and disarray, and allow the public to decide the best way ahead for our country’.
But the fact that his blueprint includes making him prime minister means it will be almost impossible for many opposition MPs to support, with a large number of Remainers angry at Mr Corbyn’s seemingly confusing Brexit position.
The strategy started to unravel this morning as furious senior Labour frontbenchers tore into the Lib Dems after Ms Swinson dismissed the idea of the Lib Dems’ 14 MPs helping him take power.
She rubbished his plan and said there was ‘no way’ the Labour leader could unite MPs.
She suggested that veteran Tory Ken Clarke or Labour’s Harriet Harman, the two longest serving MPs in the Commons, would be better choices to lead a temporary government with the single purpose of stopping No Deal and seeking a further Brexit delay.
‘Jeremy Corbyn is not the person who is going to be able to build an even temporary majority in the House of Commons for this task – I would expect there are people in his own party and indeed the necessary Conservative backbenchers who would be unwilling to support him,’ she said.
‘It is a nonsense. This letter is just more red lines that are about him and his position and is not a serious attempt to find the right solution and build a consensus to stop a No Deal Brexit.’
Labour Party chairman Ian Lavery hit back and tweeted: ‘Why would anyone be surprised at the Lib Dems refusing to meet Jeremy Corbyn to avoid a NO DEAL BREXIT?
‘All other parties are willing. They were so so so cosy being in bed with the Tories dishing out right wing policies damaging our people & communities.’
Meanwhile, the SNP’s Westminster boss, Ian Blackford, insisted his party’s priority was to stop No Deal, not install Mr Corbyn in No10.
Anna Soubry, the leader of the Independent Group for Change, formerly known as Change UK, said she could not make Mr Corbyn PM ‘for all manner of reasons’.
‘Make Ken Clarke or Harriet Harman caretaker PM instead of Jeremy Corbyn’ suggests Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson
Jo Swinson today suggested hardcore Remainers Ken Clarke or Harriet Harman be installed as the prime minister of an ’emergency government’ to resolve the Brexit crisis.
The Lib Dem leader rejected Jeremy Corbyn’s plan to become a caretaker PM, instead recommending either the Father or Mother of the House of Commons – titles given to the longest serving sitting male and female MPs – to lead an emergency government.
In her first major speech as party leader, Ms Swinson said the Commons needed to win a vote of no confidence against Boris Johnson and within 14 days install a new PM who has ‘the confidence of the House and will stop a no-deal Brexit’.
Referencing Mr Corbyn’s suggestion, she said: ‘There is no way he can unite rebel Conservatives and Independents to stop Boris Johnson. It is not even certain that he would secure all the votes of Labour MPs.
‘This isn’t about personalities, this is about having a plan that actually works. What we need in a leader of an emergency government is a long-serving Member of Parliament who is respected on both sides of the House.
‘Someone like Ken Clarke or Harriet Harman – the Father and Mother of the House – they are hugely experienced and, unlike Jeremy Corbyn, or indeed myself, they are not seeking to lead a government in the long term.’
Tory Brexiteers said the letter showed Mr Corbyn was ‘desperate’ and the overall reaction to the plan means it is almost certainly doomed to failure.
Downing Street said the letter was evidence that Mr Corbyn wanted to stop Brexit.
A Number 10 spokesman said: ‘This Government believes the people are the masters and votes should be respected, Jeremy Corbyn believes that the people are the servants and politicians can cancel public votes they don’t like.’
In order for Mr Corbyn’s plan to work he would first need to call for a vote of no confidence in Mr Johnson’s government.
MPs are currently on holiday but will return to Westminster at the start of September with speculation mounting that the Labour leader could make his move sooner rather than later in the run up to the October 31 deadline.
Should MPs then vote to oust Mr Johnson there would then be a 14 day period in which a new government could be formed.
In order to become caretaker PM Mr Corbyn would have to secure the support of a Commons majority in a formal vote during that period.
While it is possible that Mr Corbyn could win a majority in the House of Commons at a vote of no confidence, the chances of him carrying that majority over into a vote on him becoming PM appear vanishingly small.
The magic number for a majority in the House of Commons is 320 because while there are 650 MPs, the Speaker and his three deputies do not vote while Sinn Fein’s seven MPs do not take their seats.
Labour currently has 247 MPs – a long way short of the 320 needed – and there is no guarantee all of Mr Corbyn’s backbenchers would support him becoming PM given some of them oppose his leadership while others are adamant Brexit must not be delayed again.
