Opposition parties fail to agree terms for a unity government of lords and retiring MPS

CABINET posts in a government of national unity should be filled by members of the House of Lords and MPS who would retire after, according to one idea floated in the cross-party talks aimed at avoiding a no-deal Brexit.

The plan was put forward at a meeting of opposition chief whips and MPS last week in a bid to ensure any temporary administration could not be manipulated for partisan gain.

The plan would see grandee figures, such as Ken Clarke, the former Conservative chancellor, and Sir Vince Cable, ex-leader of the Lib Dems, take up top positions in a unity government.

The idea was proposed by Anna Soubry, the leader of Change UK, but was met with derision by the SNP, which has no peers and would not commit to having MPS stand down at the next election.

Ms Soubry said she believed the terms of a unity government had been agreed at the meeting, only for Labour to row back on the terms on Monday.

The former Conservative MP said: “The government of national unity has two underpinning points. One, it would have to be to deliver a second referendum. Two, anyone serving in Cabinet who is an MP would have to be resigning in the next election. They would then act in the national interest.”

While Ms Soubry was left with the impression that plan had been agreed, others in the room denied it gained traction.

One source said: “It was received in the spirit in which it was offered. There are a couple of problems.

“If you think, for example, of the SNP, they haven’t even got any peers. You would have to have a Green, and the idea of having Jenny Jones – who is a Brexiteer after all – as a member of the cabinet … well, it was received very respectfully, but not seriously.”

Angus Macneil, the SNP MP, dismissed the viability of the plan, telling The Telegraph: “The SNP would have an obvious difficulty, [as we have] a new batch of MPS and none of us go to Lords.

“So for other parties that may work, although we should oppose Lords [being involved] regardless.”

The cross-party talks have reached a stalemate, with Labour unwilling to countenance an interim government without Mr Corbyn as leader and the Lib Dems arguing that the Islington North MP would not be able to secure the support of ex-conservative MPS.