Brexit latest: Opposition parties vow to block Boris Johnson's second bid for general election

Katy Clifton6 September 2019
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Opposition leaders have agreed to vote against or abstain from a second call for a general election on Monday, according to the Liberal Democrats.

Jeremy Corbyn spoke with the leaders of the main opposition parties on Friday to discuss their resistance to holding a vote before the prospect of a no-deal Brexit on October 31 is eliminated.

Labour, the Liberal Democrats, the SNPs and Plaid Cymru are all understood to be planning on voting against or abstaining from the Fixed-Term Parliament Act when it returns to the Commons on Monday.

The conference call between leaders on Monday was described afterwards as "constructive" by a Lib Dem spokeswoman.

“We were all clear we are not going to let Boris Johnson cut and run,” she said. “The Liberal Democrat position for a while now is that we won’t vote for a general election until we have an extension agreed with the EU. I think the others are coming round to that.

“As a group we will all vote against or abstain on Monday.”

Opposition MPs have vowed to block the PM's election bid 
AFP/Getty Images

The Prime Minister has said he wants an election on October 15, but in order to call the poll he needs a two-thirds majority in the Commons and opposition parties do not trust him to stick to that date.

They also have concerns about whether he will comply with the cross-party legislation due to be passed by the House of Lords on Friday which would require him to seek a delay to Brexit if there is not a deal in place by October 19.

SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford said he was "desperate for an election", but it could not be until an extension to Article 50 was secured.

He told PA: "It's not just about our own party interests, it's about our collective national interests.

"So we are prepared to work with others to make sure we get the timing right, but the timing right on the basis of securing that extension to Article 50."

But he did anticipate that an election would be successfully called "over the course of these weeks".

SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford
PA

Plaid Cymru's Liz Saville Roberts said voting for an election next week would "play into Boris Johnson's hands", giving the PM the opportunity to ignore Parliament and force through a no-deal.

"We were in unity in our opinion, our priority is of course to stop a no-deal Brexit," she told the BBC.

"In the short time we need to make sure that we get past the October 31 and an extension to Article 50.

"We have an opportunity to bring down Boris, to break Boris and to bring down Brexit, and we must take that."

Labour said the leaders discussed efforts to prevent a "damaging" no-deal Brexit and to hold an election "once that is secured".

The development came a day after the PM suffered a torrid day in which his brother resigned from Government while describing being torn between family and "the national interest".

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