Pro-Remain MPs are drawing up a new plan to hold back funding from Whitehall departments if the next prime minister tries to take Britain out of the EU without a deal — in an attempt to prevent the hardest of Brexits.
Boris Johnson, the frontrunner for the Tory leadership, has said that he will carry out Brexit on October 31 “do or die” even if that means leaving without a deal. Jeremy Hunt, his rival, has not ruled out a no-deal Brexit although he has described that date as a “fake deadline”.
Dominic Grieve, a Tory MP, has joined forces with Labour’s Margaret Beckett to draw up the new plan to try to thwart a disorderly Brexit.
The pair have put forward an amendment to the routine government finance legislation known as “estimates” which takes place next week. If MPs back the move, it would withhold funding from certain Whitehall departments if there is a no-deal Brexit without Parliament’s approval.
The move is the latest in a series of Commons skirmishes as MPs try to use various archaic devices to prevent a no-deal Brexit. Earlier this month Labour was thwarted in an attempt to take control of the order paper to debate a mechanism to stop a no-deal Brexit. But MPs are determined to explore various options in order to tie the hands of a Eurosceptic prime minister.
Next week’s “estimates” vote on Tuesday July 2 is on the budgets for education, international aid, work and pension and housing. If the Grieve-Beckett amendment is passed the departments would not be able to receive their money unless the Commons has either ratified a Brexit deal or consented to leaving without one.
Mr Grieve is a former Conservative attorney-general while Mrs Beckett is a former Labour foreign secretary. Mr Grieve told The Sun newspaper that it was “frankly unconstitutional” for a prime minister to take the UK out of the EU without the consent of the Commons.
Nikki da Costa, former head of legislative affairs at Downing Street, pointed out that the move was not yet backed by the main opposition Labour party. She said the fact that the amendment had been tabled by two backbenchers without the backing of any Remain parties suggested it was “a bit of grandstanding.”
Mark Francois, vice-chair of the Eurosceptic ERG group of Tory MPs, said the plan was “abhorrent”.
“After the European elections it is clear that the British public are utterly sick and tired of MPs playing parliamentary games to frustrate Brexit,” he said. “The idea some utterly Europhile MPs are threatening to withhold school funding or benefits payments is abhorrent, and I hope and believe this amendment will be defeated.”
