Jeremy Corbyn tells Tory MPs it’s ‘time to act’ to stop a no-deal Brexit

Jeremy Corbyn told Tory MPs today that it was “time to act” to stop Britain hurtling out of the EU in a potentially catastrophic no-deal scenario.

The Labour leader put out the urgent call to find “common ground” among Opposition parties and dozens of Conservative MPs vehemently against an EU crash-out.

However, ahead of a meeting with Opposition party leaders this morning, clear divisions remained over how best to prevent the Government from ramming through a no deal.

Mr Corbyn’s preferred option is to topple the Government with a vote of no confidence and then for him to become caretaker leader in a temporary administration. But Lib-Dem leader Jo Swinson and senior Tories are warning that he will not be able to muster the support of enough MPs to gain a Commons majority if Boris Johnson is forced out under the 2011 Fixed-term Parliaments Act.

Shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer said as Opposition leader, Mr Corbyn had the right to seek to form a Government if the Prime Minister is ousted. But he appeared to recognise the difficulties of the plan succeeding when he highlighted alternative proposals to pass legislation to block a no deal. 

Rebel Tory leader Dominic Grieve warned that MPs were “running out of time” to impose Parliament’s will to avert a no-deal, while SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford stressed the need for unity to “stop the madness” of an EU crash-out.

However, Conservative party chairman James Cleverly accused Opposition MPs of plotting to stop Brexit rather than just no deal.

Speaking ahead of a meeting with Opposition party leaders, Mr Corbyn told the Evening Standard: “Today we’ve brought the Opposition parties together to find common ground on how to stop a no-deal Brexit which would damage our NHS, jobs and living standards. 

“Boris Johnson is reportedly planning to suspend Parliament to force through a no-deal crash out. This action would be, according to legal advice I’ve received from shadow attorney general Shami Chakrabarti, ‘the gravest abuse of power and attack upon UK Constitutional principle in living memory’. 

“My message now to the many Conservative MPs who agree with that legal advice and oppose no deal is: it’s time to act.”

Sir Keir said that when MPs return to the Commons next week it “comes to the crunch” and emphasised the need for a “united front”.

“I was very supportive of the measures earlier this year to pass legislation to prevent no deal and I’m very supportive of them now,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. He also suggested Labour was moving towards campaigning for Remain in any second referendum.

Former attorney general Mr Grieve stressed that “time is short” for MPs opposed to no deal. “My personal view remains that no-deal Brexit is catastrophic,” he told LBC radio. “There are enough of my colleagues who share that view to enable us to co-operate with others in order to make sure that no deal is indeed stopped.”

Ms Swinson told Today: “The option that seems to be gathering increasing support which makes sense and is the strongest option is passing a law to request an extension of Article 50 and requiring the Government to do so.”

The Lib Dems are proposing a triple-lock against a no-deal Brexit: legislation to stop such an outcome, if this fails a general election before the planned EU departure date of October 31, or if it is afterwards there must be a delay to leaving, and if that all fails Article 50, which triggered the UK’s departure from the bloc, must be revoked.  

Nicky Morgan, the Culture Secretary, said she did not think the suspension of Parliament by Mr Johnson to pursue a no-deal Brexit was “on the cards”.

“The role for parliamentarians now is to support the vote from 2016,” she said. “It is not good for the country what has happened over the past three years. We have to have a resolution by the 31st October.”

But Green Party MP Caroline Lucas said: “Parliament remains sovereign and it is up to MPs to unite to rein in an executive that is lurching out of control, and to prevent the irreparable damage that a no deal Brexit would do to the people of our country.”

Former Tory MP Anna Soubry, leader of The Independent Group for Change, added: “The only way to stop a no deal Brexit is legislation. At this stage anything else is a distraction.”

After Mr Johnson met French president Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the G7 summit in Biarritz, European leaders are reported to believe that the Prime Minister is serious about wanting a Brexit agreement without the backstop, but is also preparing Britain to mitigate the impact of no deal.

Opposition MPs were this afternoon gathering at Church House in Westminster, used as an alternative venue for Parliament during World War II, to sign a pledge that the “voice of the people and Parliament” continues to be heard as the Brexit crisis grows.