Cross-party ‘unity government’ may resolve crisis, says Major

BRITAIN may be ‘driven to a national government’ of unity to resolve the crisis, Sir John Major said yesterday.

The former Tory prime minister, who supports a second referendum, said the UK was facing a ‘constitutional and political [Brexit] crisis’ that a minority Conservative government may be unable to tackle alone.

He suggested politicians might have to create the first ‘government of national unity’ since the Second World War. This could involve senior Labour politicians being given roles in the Cabinet to try to drive through a compromise.

Tory advocates of the idea have said they could never work with Jeremy Corbyn, but believe his deputy Tom Watson and senior figures such as Yvette Cooper might be persuaded to sign up in the national interest. However, Mr Watson yesterday said he was not interested, saying: ‘I don’t want a national unity government, I want a Labour government that negotiates a better Brexit deal that allows the people to have their say on that and then transforms the economy of Britain to benefit the many not the few.’

Sir John, an outspoken critic of Brexit, acknowledged that the current upheaval could lead to an election. But he told the BBC’s Andrew Marr show: ‘If we don’t get a government with a clear majority, then I think it would be in the national interest to have a cross-party government so that we can take decisions without the chaos that we’re seeing in Parliament at the moment.’

Centrist Tories have also made similar proposals in recent days. George Freeman, a former policy adviser to Theresa May, has said: ‘We need a Brexit war cabinet.’