Change UK Would Back A No Confidence Vote To Stop No-Deal Brexit

The Change UK party of breakaway MPs has vowed to back a no confidence vote in the government if it is necessary to stop a no-deal Brexit despite the threat of almost certain wipeout in a subsequent general election.

But with Boris Johnson, who is far more relaxed about no deal, looking likely to be PM in a month, the party’s five MPs have changed tack despite being highly likely to lose their seats if an election is triggered.

It came after Tory minister Tobias Ellwood said around a dozen Conservative MPs could be prepared to collapse the government to stop no deal.

Labour is reserving the right to trigger an immediate no confidence vote in the government the week the new PM takes office, beginning July 22. 

And Change UK’s shift makes it more likely that MPs would be able to successfully stop no deal via a vote of no confidence. However, it would depend on the number of Brexit-backing Labour rebels voting with the government or abstaining.

There are 15 independent MPs, including six who joined and then quit Change UK, who would also play crucial roles. 

A Change UK spokesperson said: “If faced with the prospect of crashing out of the EU with no deal, MPs from all parties must put our country first and support a vote of no confidence in the government.

“No deal would be a disaster for the UK’s economy, for people’s livelihoods and for our reputation on the international stage.”

What is a vote of no confidence?

If the Commons passes a vote of no confidence in the government and a new government with the support of a majority of MPs cannot be formed within 14 calendar days, parliament is dissolved and an early general election is triggered.

Earlier, Johnson’s leadership rival Jeremy Hunt, who sees no deal as more of a last resort, said a government led by his predecessor as foreign secretary would rapidly collapse when faced with key decisions on Brexit.

Hunt said Johnson had put together a “fragile” coalition of supporters opponents of a no-deal Brexit which would quickly disintegrate in office.

He spoke after Ellwood told BBC One’s Panorama: “I think a dozen or so members of parliament would be on our side, would be voting against supporting a no-deal and that would include ministers as well as backbenchers.” 

Ellwood later suggested he might not personally back a no confidence vote in a government pursuing no deal.

But Tory former chancellor Ken Clarke indicated he would be among those prepared to bring down a government led by his own party.

A vote of no confidence “might trigger an election, it might trigger a change of government without an election under the law we now have”, he said.

Asked what he would do if Labour put forward a confidence motion, he told BBC Radio 4′s World at One: “It depends on the circumstances at the time and what whoever is prime minister is putting forward as the policy he is going to pursue.

“But I am not going to vote in favour of a government that says it is going to pursue policies which are totally incompatible with everything the Conservative party has stood for under all those prime ministers for the decades that I have been in parliament.”