epa07798883 (FILE) - Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks at a press conference at the G7 summit in Biarritz, France, 26 August 2019 (reissued 28 August 2019). According to reports, British government has formally requested the intervention of the Queen in a bid to suspend parliament. A government source said the government's intention is to suspend parliament and hold a Queen's speech 14 October, setting out the future plans of a post-Brexit government. EPA-EFE/NEIL HALL
It will be another battle royale in the British House of Commons next week as opposition law-makers prepare a plan to force the embattled British PM out of office.
The British PM Boris Johnson could be forced to step down next week as opposition MPs join forces to replace him with an interim administration in order to secure another Brexit delay beyond the fast-looming deadline of October 31.
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Senior Scottish National Party MP Stewart Hosie has told the BBC there was a real chance a House of Commons no confidence vote could take place in the government during the next week of deliberations. If Boris Johnson loses the vote he could be replaced as PM by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn for a short period of time.
Corbyn himself faces criticism for his vague Brexit stance and failure to stamp out anti-Semitism in the Labour Party. His approval rating sits at minus 60 points making him the least popular of any opposition leader on record. Most pundits believe his party would fall well short of a majority if an election were held.
But MP Stewart Hosie warns that sending Corbyn to Downing Street as an interim PM may be the only way to ensure the UK does not crash out of the EU on October 31.
“For a vote of no confidence to succeed in Parliament, all opposition parties would need to support it. We have to do that because there is now no confidence that the Prime Minister will obey the law and seek the extension which Parliament voted for only a few weeks ago.”
Johnson has consistently used the controversial phrase “surrender act” to describe the legislation that Parliament passed to prevent a no-deal Brexit, which requires him to ask for an extension if he cannot get a new deal with the EU by October 19.
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Lawmakers have called Johnson’s language in the House of Commons over recent days “disgusting” with former Conservative MP Justine Greening calling it “deeply disrespectful” to Parliament.
In response Johnson told parliament… “It would oblige us to stay in the EU for month after month at a cost of a billion pounds per month, it would take away from this country the ability to decide how long that extension would be, and it would give that power to the EU, it would absolutely undermine our ability to continue to negotiate because it takes away our ability to walk away from the negotiation.”
While the SNP’s Hosie suggested that the interim administration could be led by Corbyn, he acknowledged that the Liberal Democrats and many Conservative rebels who had the whip withdrawn have made it clear they would not put the Labour leader into Downing Street, even for a short period.
Labour leader Corbyn said yesterday that he had a “productive meeting” with opposition parties on Thursday. The Labour leader reiterated to reporters… “our priority, all of us, is to prevent a no-deal exit from the European Union on the 31st.”
