We are ready to take over this week, say Labour

THE British Labour party is ready to try to form a minority government as early as Wednesday morning if Theresa May’s government collapses, senior party figures said yesterday.

Shadow Cabinet Office minister Jon Trickett said his party was ready to join forces with smaller parties and ‘reset’ Brexit negotiations if the British government falls after a heavy defeat in the Commons tomorrow.

This could only realistically happen if the government lost a vote on Mrs May’s deal and a subsequent vote of no confidence.

Under the Fixed Term Parliament Act, any government that loses a no-confidence vote has 14 days to pass a second confidence motion, or parliament is dissolved and a general election called.

When asked if Labour could table such a motion this week, leader Jeremy Corbyn said: ‘You’ll have to wait and see.’ Similarly, Mr Trickett said yesterday: ‘Let’s see what happens.’

Asked on Sky News what will happen after the vote, Mr Trickett said: ‘If you can tell me whether [Mrs May] will still be prime minister on Tuesday evening, then perhaps I can tell you what exactly we will do next.

‘Our preferred option... is that we [have a general election] though we are ready to form a minority government should that be necessary – and it could happen on Wednesday morning – and to begin to reset the negotiation.’

Mr Corbyn has said he would consider delaying Brexit by extending Article 50 if Labour wins power, saying: ‘We’d start negotiating straight away. If it meant holding things a bit longer to do it, of course [we would].’

Labour’s policy is to call for a general election if the government loses a vote tomorrow, but if that is not possible then all options – including a second referendum – are open.

Mr Trickett insisted that he still wanted to take Britain out of the EU, saying: ‘We have decided that we are leaving because we have listened to the instruction from the people.’