Opposition parties to block Boris Johnson’s snap General Election bid
Labour and other British opposition parties have agreed not to back Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s calls for a General Election before the end of October, when the UK is due to leave the European Union.
Jeremy Corbyn’s party, the Lib Dems, the SNP and Plaid Cymru have said they will vote against or abstain in Monday’s vote on whether to hold a snap election.
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They are also said to have agreed against putting down a motion of no confidence in the PM on Monday, which would also trigger an election.
“Jeremy Corbyn hosted a positive conference call with other opposition party leaders this morning,” a Labour party spokesperson said.
“They discussed advancing efforts to prevent a damaging no-deal Brexit and hold a general election once that is secured.”
The SNP’s Ian Blackford said the parties made the agreement after talks this morning because they wanted to stop the UK crashing out of the EU without a deal.
Johnson said the parties were making an “extraordinary political mistake”.
Plaid Cymru’s Commons leader, Liz Saville Roberts, told the BBC that opposition parties must “make sure we get past the 31 October and an extension to Article 50”.
“In that respect, we were in agreement that the prime minister is on the run. Boris is broken. We have an opportunity to bring down Boris, to break Boris, and to bring down Brexit. And we must take that,” she said.
“Just as this week, the vote for a general election would play into Boris Johnson’s hands. It would allow him to ignore the legislation that is currently going through the House of Lords, likely to have royal assent today. It would allow him to ignore that. It would give him the opportunity to ignore the law.
“Our duty, therefore, as parliamentarians who are intent therefore on stopping no-deal Brexit is to be here in this place, to hold him to account, and to make sure that he abides by the law.”
A Number 10 spokesperson criticised Labour’s stance, saying: “Jeremy Corbyn has voted to wreck the negotiations, to delay Brexit until 2020 at least, to hand over billions if Brussels demands it, and to stop the public having a vote until after Brexit is delayed again.
“Corbyn does not trust the people. He wants to cancel the referendum result and stop the people having a say.
“The PM trusts the people and thinks they should decide who goes to Brussels on 17 October to negotiate — and he will get us out on 31 October with or without a deal.”
The SNP’s House of Commons leader Ian Blackford told Sky News that the rebel alliance wants MPs to sit in parliament on 18 October, 19 October and 20 October.
But they would allow a dissolution of parliament before then.
MPs would sit on those dates in October to ensure the Prime Minister obeys a bill requiring him to seek an extension to Brexit to 31 January.
That would prevent the UK crashing out of the EU without a deal on 31 October.
Prime Minister Johnson wants an early general election to take place on 15 October.
He said he was “perplexed” by the decision of opposition parties not to agree to a snap general election.
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“All I see is Corbyn and the SNP clubbing together to try and lock us into the EU when it’s time to this thing done,” he said.
“It’s the most sensational paradox – never in history has the opposition party been given the chance for election and has turned it down.”