Corbyn plans to pounce with no-confidence vote
Opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn is poised to table a vote of no confidence in the Government straight after the meaningful vote over night NZ time if Theresa May’s Brexit deal is rejected.
Labour whips have told MPs to be ready for a vote, with Corbyn preparing to raise a point of order within minutes of the result being confirmed.
The censure motion would take place after Prime Minister’s Questions and could be limited to just 90 minutes of debate before MPs are asked to vote, according to a senior Labour source.
Should the censure motion secure the backing of a simple majority of MPs, it would almost certainly force May to resign and would give the Conservative Party just two weeks to form an administration capable of winning the confi- dence of the Commons.
Tomorrow, Corbyn will then travel to Hastings, Amber Rudd’s constituency, where he will speak at an event that will seen by many as a potential springboard from which to launch an election campaign.
The constituency is likely to become one of the key target seats for Labour, with Rudd, a potential successor to May, wielding a wafer-thin majority of just 346. This makes Rudd vulnerable to a ‘‘decapitation’’ strategy that could see Labour throw vast resources at the constituency to unseat a possible future Tory leader.
Yesterday a source close to Corbyn refused to confirm the timetable but acknowledged there were ‘‘arguments for doing it then’’.
Alert to the danger, Julian Smith, the Government’s Chief Whip, has warned Tory MPs that a confidence motion could be ‘‘tabled on Wednesday’’, telling them to ‘‘prepare accordingly’’.
The Daily Telegraph also understands that Corbyn could ask his MPs to either abstain or vote against an amendment put forward by Hilary Benn, the Labour backbencher, amid fears it will damage the prospects of the censure motion succeeding. That amendment, if passed, would reject the Withdrawal Agreement, convey a lack of support for no-deal and pave the way for alternative plans for Brexit.
However, Corbyn’s team are opposed to it because it would allow May to pull the vote on her Brexit deal, thus sparing her a crushing defeat.
A party insider confirmed that Labour had ‘‘gone cool’’ on the amendment, adding that Corbyn was focused on defeating May’s deal.
Their comments were echoed by John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, who said he would prefer a ‘‘straight vote’’ rather than getting ‘‘tangled up’’ in amendments. He told Today on BBC Radio 4: ‘‘Tomorrow, when the vote comes up, we’ll be trying to ensure that we vote against Theresa May’s deal because we don’t think it’s in the interests of the country overall.’’
Speaking in the Commons yesterday, Corbyn claimed that May had failed to bring back any new concessions and that the deal was ‘‘exactly the same’’ as the one pulled last month.
Calling on MPs to vote it down, he added: ‘‘It is clear if the prime minister’s deal is rejected tomorrow that it is time for a general election, it is time for a new government.’’
However, doubts remain as to whether he can secure enough votes from Tory rebels or the DUP. If he is unable to force a snap election, Corbyn will come under greater pressure to throw his weight behind a second referendum, an option he has repeatedly played down.