Opposition parties pour cold water on SNP plan to bring down Boris Johnson this week
3 min read
Opposition parties have distanced themselves from the SNP's attempts to bring down the Government during the Conservative Party conference.
Nicola Sturgeon's party wants to table a motion of no confidence in Boris Johnson's administration while he is in Manchester for the Tories' annual gathering.
The SNP leader has said her party would be willing to support Jeremy Corbyn as a caretaker Prime Minister in order to secure a Brexit extension and then call a general election.
But the Lib Dems, Plaid Cymru and even Labour themselves are unwilling to bring down the Government until a no-deal Brexit is completely ruled out.
There is also suspicion among the parties the SNP want a snap election to advance their push for a second independence referendum.
Under the Fixed Term Parliaments Act, the Commons would have 14 days to back an alternative PM if Mr Johnson falls.
If none can command the support of a majority of MPs, a general election has to be called.
Critics of the SNP plan say they fear Mr Johnson could use that as an opportunity to take the UK out of the EU without a deal on 31 October.
A Plaid Cymru source said: "We would like to see the back of Boris Johnson as soon as possible. We must be sure, however, that we do not give him a chance to deliver a disastrous crash-out Brexit, by gifting him an election and closing down Parliament before the legally-required Article 50 extension is secured.
"Our priority remains delivering a fresh referendum that will end the Brexit chaos."
A Labour source told PoliticsHome: "We’re not against a vote of no coonfidence in principle, but there’s a real danger that this increases chances of a no-deal as we can’t expect the PM to play by the rules and stand down, so he could be PM during the election and force us out with no-deal."
And Lib Dem frontbencher Chuka Umunna said there was no chance of Mr Corbyn winning the support of a majority of MPs.
He said: "The 20 former Conservative MPs who were ejected from that party and at least four other independent MPs have already indicated they will not under any circumstances support the leader of the opposition in forming a caretaker government, so a Jeremy Corbyn led emergency government is impossible and does not arise as a prospect.
"Whether Mr Corbyn is asked to form a government is not in our gift but if he seeks to do so it is clear he cannot command a majority in the Commons."
In his speech to the Tory conference, Jackson Carlaw, the party's stand-in Scottish leader, called on Ms Sturgeon to dump her plan.
He said: "The prospect of Jeremy Corbyn as Prime Minister strikes genuine fear not just with Scotland's Jewish community but with Jewish friends all across the UK.
"And no First Minister, however obsessed with achieving 'indyref2', should even for a moment, in a move of dangerous political expediency, conspire to make that possible. It is a grave error of judgement and Nicola Sturgeon must withdraw this threat without delay."
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