SNP: We’ll go it alone with a bid to oust the PM
‘This shambles cannot go on’
THE SNP yesterday launched an attempt to topple the UK Government – and warned Jeremy Corbyn that if he does not propose a vote of no confidence in Theresa May then it will.
Nicola Sturgeon pledged to work with Labour to force the Conservatives from power and urged Mr Corbyn to bring forward the motion.
But the SNP’s Westminster leader Ian Blackford warned that if Mr Corbyn does not propose a vote, the SNP could launch its own motion to get rid of the PM.
Asked if he would table such a vote, Mr Blackford told Channel 4 News: ‘I’m asking Jeremy Corbyn to do that in the first instance – Jeremy is the leader of the Opposition.
‘We have the option to do so. I think it is far better that Labour take that initiative.
‘If it is not the case, we have to make sure that at the right time we are prepared, if necessary, to take appropriate action. This is a government that has got to be held to account.’
Miss Sturgeon’s plot could leave the door open for Mr Corbyn to snatch the keys to Downing Street following Mrs May’s decision to postpone a vote on her withdrawal agreement. It took the SNP leader barely minutes to jump on the announcement, accusing Mrs May of ‘pathetic cowardice’ and branding the move a ‘watershed moment’ in the Brexit process.
The First Minister then tweeted a challenge to Mr Corbyn to lodge Deputy Scottish Political Editor a vote of no confidence in the Government today, pledging SNP support.
Scottish Labour MP Ian Murray also urged Mr Corbyn to seek such a vote, with dozens of his backbench colleagues signing a letter to their leader.
Lib Dem leader Vince Cable has said his party would support the move.
Mrs May had been expected to suffer an embarrassing defeat in the House of Commons vote on her Brexit deal, with both Remainers and Leavers opposing her withdrawal agreement with the European Union.
Before Mrs May announced the vote’s postponement, senior Scottish Tory MP John Lamont admitted he would not back it.
His colleague, Douglas Ross, also noted his intention to vote against the Government.
On Twitter, Miss Sturgeon said: ‘Jeremy Corbyn – if Labour, as official Opposition, lodges motion of no confidence in this incompetent government tomorrow, the SNP will support and we can then work together to give people the chance to stop Brexit in another vote.
‘This shambles can’t go on – so how about it?’
She also confirmed that she had voiced her ‘deep frustration’ during a phone call with the Prime Minister.
Edinburgh South MP Mr Murray wrote to Mr Corbyn – backed by dozens of his Labour colleagues – calling for a motion of no confidence.
He said: ‘Following today’s farcical events by the Government, I have written with dozens of colleagues to ask Jeremy Corbyn to press a vote of no confidence this week and then go immediately for a people’s vote.’
However, last night Mr Corbyn stood accused of shying away from his threats to topple the Government after he ignored his MPs’ calls.
A Labour Party spokesman said: ‘We will put down a motion of no confidence when we judge it most likely to be successful.’ Meanwhile, Mr Lamont published a statement saying he had ‘reluctantly’ decided to vote against Mrs May’s deal.
He said there were ‘clearly significant risks associated with this Withdrawal Agreement’.
He explained: ‘The UK could end up in an uncomfortable half-way house – having to follow EU rules without any influence or say over them.’
His colleague, Moray MP Mr Ross, told Mrs May in the Commons chamber that he could not back her.
Speaking after the postponement, he asked when he would be given the chance to speak in a debate on the issue, adding: ‘I’d like the opportunity to explain to the people of Moray why I came to the conclusion I couldn’t support the Prime Minister in her deal.’