Jeremy Corbyn demands civil service chief blocks No Deal

brexit countdown_bgCreated with Sketch.

Furious Tories accused Jeremy Corbyn of a desperate plot to ‘get his hands on the keys to No10’ today after Labour demanded the head of civil service stops Boris Johnson forcing through No Deal.

Mr Corbyn has told Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill he cannot allow the PM to trigger a general election campaign over the October 31 deadline for leaving the EU.

The Opposition says Sir Mark must be a ‘voice of sanity’ after Mr Johnson’s allies confirmed that if he loses a confidence vote he will simply set the polling date for early November – dissolving Parliament and leaving MPs powerless to prevent the process.

But Tories hit back that Mr Corbyn was playing politics and betraying his previous promise to honour the result of the 2016 referendum. 

The stark threat from No10 has thrown Remainers into chaos as they scramble to find a way to prevent the premier keeping his ‘do or die’ vow to take the UK out of the bloc by Halloween.

The row has stretched the UK constitution to breaking point, with calls for the Queen to sack Mr Johnson to avert No Deal.   

The usual principle is that government maintains the ‘status quo’ during an election period, rather than making any radical decisions.  

However, while pro-EU MPs argue No Deal would be a major shift, leaving on October 31 is the legal default since Parliament voted to invoke Article 50 more than two years ago.

In his letter to Sir Mark, Mr Corbyn (pictured above in Whaley Bridge this week) asked him to confirm that if the UK is due to leave the EU without a deal while an election is under way, the Government should seek another time-limited extension to Article 50 to allow voters to decide

The Labour leader appealed directly to Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill, pictured with the Prime Minister above, insisting Mr Johnson should be blocked from taking Britain out of the EU during a general election campaign

Mr Corbyn said today that Mr Johnson must not be allowed to 'abuse his power' to force a No Deal Brexit at Halloween

Mr Corbyn said today that Mr Johnson must not be allowed to ‘abuse his power’ to force a No Deal Brexit at Halloween

In his letter to Sir Mark, Mr Corbyn said that would be an ‘unprecedented, unconstitutional and anti-democratic abuse of power’.

He said the Cabinet Office’s election rules made it clear that policy decisions on which a new government ‘might be expected to want to take a different view’ should be postponed until after polling day.

Mr Corbyn also said he wanted to delay Brexit by extending Article 50. 

Countdown to Brexit 

Here are some key dates in the countdown to Brexit:

September 3: Parliament returns from its summer recess

Early September: Labour is expected to trigger a vote of no confidence in Boris Johnson’s Government 

Early/Mid-September: If Boris Johnson loses the confidence vote, Remainers could try to install a cross-party administration to delay Brexit past October 31

Early/Mid September: Alternatively if Mr Johnson loses a general election is triggered if no one can form an administration within 14 days.  But there are few rules on when he has to hold it

Early/Mid September: Or the Queen could step in and demand Mr Johnson resign, should he try to remain in No 10, sparking a potential constitutional crisis

October 31: Brexit day, when the UK is currently due to leave the EU

Early November? A possible post-Brexit General Election

Shadow cabinet minister Andy McDonald today insisted Sir Mark had to be the ‘voice of sanity’ to prevent No Deal.  

‘When the Prime Minister of the day is intent on departing from protocols, custom and practice that has served us well over many hundreds of years, we do need to have some voice of sanity,’ he told BBC Radio 4’s Today prgramme. 

‘If it cannot come from the politician and immediate adviser to the Prime Minister, then we have no other choice than to go to the head of the civil service and say ‘you’re the custodian of the civil service, you’ve got a role to play here and we do expect you to intervene and guide and advise’.’ 

Mr McDonald said Labour is committed to putting ‘whatever deal is negotiated back to the people’. 

But pressed if Mr Corbyn wanted to remain in the EU or leave, Mr McDonald ducked the question.

‘We would be negotiating a deal and we could go down these hypothetical rabbit holes forever,’ he said. 

There are fears of a constitutional crisis this autumn if Mr Johnson loses a confidence vote and refuses to quit, allowing him to take Britain out of the EU without a deal. 

This week, Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell said that under those circumstances, he would put Mr Corbyn in a taxi to tell the Queen: ‘We’re taking over.’

The Prime Minister tried to play down the prospects of No Deal last night. 

Speaking to the BBC, he warned accepting the Irish backstop would turn the country into a ‘satellite state’. 

But he left the door open to a compromise by saying once the backstop was changed, talks would be ‘at the races’. 

Crucially, he refused to rule out calling an election and forcing No Deal in the meantime.

In his letter to Sir Mark, Mr Corbyn asked him to confirm that if the UK is due to leave the EU without a deal while an election is under way, the Government should seek another time-limited extension to Article 50 to allow voters to decide.

‘Forcing through No Deal against a decision of Parliament, and denying the choice to the voters in a general election already under way, would be an unprecedented, unconstitutional and anti-democratic abuse of power by a Prime Minister elected not by the public but by a small number of unrepresentative Conservative Party members,’ he wrote.

The letter will be seen as an attempt to flush out official advice from Sir Mark to Mr Johnson about whether it would be appropriate to allow Brexit to happen ahead of an election.

A senior Tory source said: ‘No amount of letter-writing political stunts will change the fact that politicians don’t get to choose which public votes they respect.’

Dominic Cummings (pictured leaving his London home today) is believed to be masterminding the No10 Brexit operation

Dominic Cummings (pictured leaving his London home today) is believed to be masterminding the No10 Brexit operation

Asked about the issue yesterday, Mr Johnson refused to comment directly. But speaking about the backstop, he said: ‘There’s every possibility for the EU to show flexibility. There’s bags of time for them to do it.’ 

He said the backstop would turn us into a ‘satellite state,’ adding: ‘Once we get change on that, we’re at the races and I think there is a good deal to be done.’

Meanwhile, rebel Tory MPs are planning to scrap the autumn parliamentary recess to leave time for their anti-No Deal plot.

This would mean the end of the party conference season.

The two options being pursued by Remainers as they battle to block No Deal Brexit

Westminster is braced for an explosive couple of months as the October 31 Brexit deadline looms.

Boris Johnson has made a ‘do or die’ vow to get the UK out of the bloc by the crucial date, with or without a deal.

But Remainer MPs have been mobilising as they seek ways of blocking the country from crashing out.

There does appear to be a majority in the Commons against No Deal – but MPs are badly split over how they should go about binding the hands of the government.

Boris Johnson (pictured in Downing Street this week) has solemnly vowed to complete Brexit by October 31 'come what may', but the EU is refusing to give way on his key demand that the hated Irish border be dropped

Boris Johnson (pictured in Downing Street this week) has solemnly vowed to complete Brexit by October 31 ‘come what may’, but the EU is refusing to give way on his key demand that the hated Irish border be dropped

Remainers admit they are now at a ‘fork in the road’, with opinion divided between two potential options for averting No Deal.

Some, such as Tory former Cabinet minister Dominic Grieve, have been focusing on whether a no-confidence motion could be passed to evict Mr Johnson from power if he is about to push through Brexit without an agreement. 

Mr Grieve has suggested putting a ‘unity’ premier into No10, perhaps Labour veteran Margaret Beckett, who could ask for an extension to the Article 50 process. 

However, Mr Johnson’s hard-line Brexit adviser Dominic Cummings has made it known that he would simply refuse to quit even if he loses a confidence vote, and try to call an election for after the deadline. 

The other avenue being pursued by Remainers is to pass a law that would oblige the PM to seek and accept an extension to Article 50 from the EU.

Unlike the confidence vote, that would not risk Parliament being dissolved for an election – which could leave MPs powerless to stop No Deal.

But there are concerns that Mr Johnson might either ignore the law or refuse to accept any conditions Brussels puts on an extension. 

Option 1: A vote of no confidence in the Government

 If the stand-off has not been broken by September, Labour is expected to team up with Tory rebels to stage an early confidence vote to stave off the threat of crashing out. 

It is a drastic option that would end the careers of any Conservative MPs who join, but only a PM can request an extension to the Article 50 process, and the legal default currently is that the UK leaves at Halloween with or without an agreement. 

As the government’s working majority is just one and with strong cross-party opposition to No Deal, there is a serious prospect that Mr Johnson will lose.

But Mr Cummings reportedly ‘laughed’ at a meeting recently when it was put to him that Mr Johnson would have to quit if he lost such a vote.

Instead, he could try to wait for an election to be triggered and fight it on a ‘people vs politicians’ ticket, complaining that his opponents are trying to block Brext. 

He could also try to fix an election date that was after the Brexit date – robbing the Commons of its ability to control the process and achieving a No Deal Brexit by default.  

Remainers believe if the premier refused to go quietly the Queen would be forced to sack him

Margaret Beckett could take over to delay the Brexit process.

Remainers believe if the premier refused to go quietly the Queen would be forced to sack him and a unity Government could be installed, with Margaret Beckett a rumoured interim leader

Under the Fixed Term Parliaments Act (FTPA), losing a confidence motion triggers a 14 day countdown to an election being called.

During that period it is possible for a Prime Minister to win a confidence vote and prevent the country going to the polls.

However, the legislation is silent on whether the same premier can return to try again.

Remainer MPs say the Queen would have to sack Mr Johnson if he refused to resign after losing a confidence vote. 

But the monarch has always been extremely wary of wading into politics, and it is far from clear that there will be another politician with more chance of commanding a majority in the Commons. Labour has already ruled out the Remainers’ favoured option of a national unity government, and Mr Corbyn can barely rely on the support of his own MPs – let along Tories.   

Option 2: Passing a law to delay Brexit

Pro-EU MPs have already deployed the tactic of seizing control of Commons business to pass a law insisting on a Brexit delay.

In April a Bill sponsored by Labour’s Yvette Cooper and Tory Oliver Letwin made it through Parliament, which paved the way for the Article 50 extension to October 31. 

There are moves afoot to cancel the schedule recess next month, which would give more time.

It would require the assistance of Speaker John Bercow, but he has shown himself will to stretch procedural rules to breaking point in order to facilitate MPs getting involved in the Brexit process. 

Potentially this approach would involve an emergency debate – known as a Section 24 debate – being tabled and accepted by the Speaker.

He would then allow the MPs to put down a business motion in the slot the next day, setting out the steps for a law to be passed.

That legislation is likely to be very short, simply instructing the PM to seek and accept an extension from the EU.

Remainers are divided over whether the Bill should point the way to a resolution to the Brexit crisis, such as a referendum.

However, if passed by the Commons and the Lords, Mr Johnson would be breaking the law if he refused to ask for an extension.

Refusing to comply would spark legal action, and cause a constitutional crisis. 

If the stand-off has not been broken by September, Jeremy Corbyn (pictured at Whaley Bridge this week) is expected to team up with Tory rebels to stage a confidence vote - which Mr Johnson could easily lose

If the stand-off has not been broken by September, Jeremy Corbyn (pictured at Whaley Bridge this week) is expected to team up with Tory rebels to stage a confidence vote – which Mr Johnson could easily lose

 

 

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk