Rebel Conservatives and independent MPs have expressed deep scepticism after an invite from Jeremy Corbyn to discuss ways to stop a no-deal Brexit, making it explicit that their preference was to stop it by legislation, not through a Labour-led vote of no confidence.
The former Conservative MP Nick Boles demanded the Labour leader rule out backing a general election that could lead to the UK leaving the EU without a deal on 31 October.
In a letter that laid out plans for rebel Conservatives to stop no deal, Boles turned down Corbyn’s offer of a meeting, saying the Labour leader had to commit to alternative routes to stopping the UK crashing out that went beyond him offering to steward a caretaker government.
The former Tory MP Anna Soubry said she would attend the meeting scheduled for next week with other party leaders but also underlined that she would tell Corbyn that MPs must pursue legislative routes to stop no deal, rather than an immediate confidence vote.
Dominic Grieve, one of the key Conservative MPs behind efforts to stop no deal, said he could not attend at the time set by Corbyn but said it was “a matter of public record that I am open to meeting with him at a mutually convenient time”.
Boles and Soubry both said the Labour leadership should focus on backing the action in parliament to legislate against no deal, which cross-party MPs have worked on over the summer.
It is understood that rebel Conservatives and others working cross-party to stop no deal believe they already have the necessary backchannels to the Labour leadership to pass legislation to stop no deal, and would prefer the parliamentary efforts were led by a backbencher in order to maximise its chance of success.
Previous efforts have been led by MPs including Labour’s Yvette Cooper or Margaret Beckett, as well as by Boles and Grieve.
“We are already in discussions with senior figures in Labour who are familiar with our thinking about how to stop no deal and involved in plans for legislation,” one source said.
In his letter to Corbyn, Boles said the plan would involve “seizing control of the order paper and passing an act of parliament that compels the prime minister to secure the agreement of the EU council to a further extension to article 50” – similar to action taken by Boles, Cooper and the Conservative Oliver Letwin earlier this year.
Boles, who quit the Conservative party in protest at the reticence of some MPs to find a solution to the Brexit impasse, said Corbyn had to rule out facilitating an election before an article 50 extension had been secured.
He said he would not support a vote of no confidence while the Boris Johnson government continued to pursue a Brexit deal nor support any government in which Corbyn was prime minister.
Boles said he also needed guarantees from Corbyn that he would oppose efforts from Downing Street to prorogue parliament and call an early general election on 1 November, in order to stop such a bill delaying the UK’s exit from receiving royal assent.
“It is therefore essential that you declare publicly that you will not facilitate an election before an extension of article 50 has been secured and a no-deal Brexit has been averted,” he wrote.
“Until you do so, people will continue to doubt the sincerity of your declared opposition to a no-deal Brexit and your readiness to put the interests of the country before the interests of your party and your personal ambitions.”
Soubry said she felt “very, very strongly that a vote of no confidence is a genuine distraction” and that Conservative rebels would only back one when it became clear Johnson was no longer pursuing a Brexit deal in any form.
“In September we have to stop a no-deal Brexit by way of legislation,” Soubry said. “We must have in law that we could not leave the European Union without a deal and that would mean that we have an extension.”
Corbyn has invited Scottish National party, Liberal Democrat, Plaid Cymru, Conservative and independent MPs to visit his office next Tuesday, urging them to talk about “all tactics available to prevent no deal”.
The Conservative MP Caroline Spelman, who was invited to the meeting, has also said she will not attend – and hinted she may be prepared to accept Johnson’s position, despite having sponsored amendments that blocked no deal earlier this year.
In a video message, Spelman said she would not support any efforts to remove Johnson as prime minister and backed his pursuit of a Brexit deal. “I do not support Jeremy Corbyn’s initiative and I would not support a government led by him,” she said.
“The position taken by Boris Johnson – that we will be leaving the EU on 31 October but he would prefer we did so with a deal – is one I entirely support and I wish Boris Johnson every success in those negotiations.
“However, [if] the reality is that he is not able to conclude those negotiations, we will be leaving without a deal because that is what the law states. I reassert again that I fully support Boris Johnson as our prime minister and I would not in any circumstances bring down a Conservative government led by him.”
Corbyn’s invitation has been accepted by opposition party leaders from the SNP, Lib Dems, Plaid Cymru and the Greens but sources said he was yet to receive a response from two other Tories invited to the meeting – Letwin and another Conservative MP Guto Bebb, who had signalled he could be prepared to back a Corbyn government as a last resort to prevent no deal. .