SNP MPs are calling for their party’s Westminster leader to try to oust Boris Johnson as Prime Minister just hours into his premiership. Tommy Sheppard, the SNP frontbencher, is among several figures spoken to by The National who want Ian Blackford to put down an immediate motion of no confidence in Johnson’s fledgling government.
Sheppard told The Sunday National it was important for Parliament to act to send a warning to the new Prime Minister that MPs were opposed to a no-deal departure from the EU and were prepared to move against him.
READ MORE: Johnson-Trump trade deal will 'spell disaster for Scotland', say SNP
“It is very clear that the basis on which Johnson has been elected by a tiny, unrepresentative minority in the United Kingdom is diametrically opposed to the wishes of Parliament,” he said.
“In that context it is important that Parliament exerts itself at the very beginning of his premiership. It gives him an indication that he will not have a lot of room to manoeuvre and he will have to work with the elected parliament.
“It is important to express no confidence not just in him as an individual but on the policy platform on which he has come to the premiership, the fact he is prepared to crash out of the European Union without a deal and regards this as some sort of cavalier adventure rather than as a serious matter of international policy.”
Sheppard added that even if the motion of no confidence was not selected for debate or not successful it would not stop a second such motion from being tabled in September following the summer recess.
READ MORE: Ruth Davidson's authority is 'being shredded by the day' over Brexit
Asked if such a step could backfire with Tory rebels falling in behind Johnson, Sheppard said: “No, I don’t think that will be the case. I don’t think there are many in Parliament who are undecided about Boris Johnson. People are very divided and there is no middle ground on this.”
Another SNP MP told The National that Johnson would be vulnerable to a no confidence vote this week, with his party in disarray and split over the prospects of a no-deal Brexit.
However, he doubted Labour backbenchers would necessarily get behind the motion, saying he thought a number of their MPs didn’t want a general election while Jeremy Corbyn was in charge.
He also said a no confidence motion would need to be tabled this week if there was to be any chance of holding a General Election before the October 31 Brexit deadline.
Blackford would not be drawn on any plans for a no confidence vote when he spoke to the Sunday National.
READ MORE: Scotland won’t put up with a buffoon and liar Boris Johnson as PM
He said: “The SNP will not sit idly by as the failed former Foreign Secretary railroads ahead with imposing a devastating Brexit upon Scotland against our will – and every option must be on the table to stop this government in its tracks.
“I call on MPs from across Westminster to back the SNP’s efforts to ensure that Boris Johnson’s nightmare Brexit plans do not become a reality.’’
It’s likely to be a week of high drama in Westminster. The result of the Tory’s leadership contest will be revealed at 11am on Tuesday. Johnson is expected to have defeated rival Jeremy Hunt by some distance.
Theresa May will stand down as Prime Minister following her final Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday. Johnson will then head to Buckingham Palace where he will be asked to form a government by the Queen. There’s an expectation he could start appointing his cabinet that night.
Tory backbenchers have been given a three-line whip, with party chiefs suspecting a vote being called shortly after Johnson gets the keys for No 10.
Last month senior Conservative rebels urged Labour to table a no confidence motion in Johnson following his “do or die” pledge to take the UK out of the EU even without a Brexit deal on October 31. They also approached SNP MPs to urge them to act if Labour does not.
READ MORE: SNP step up bid to block Boris Johnson's route to Number 10
Speaker of the Commons John Bercow has previously said that the “ordinary working assumption” was that no-confidence motions can only be taken if put forward by the official opposition, Labour.
However, he said that did not have to be the case: “It is open to a representative of a party other than the principal opposition to table such a motion. Earlier this month, Labour’s
Shadow International Trade
Secretary, Barry Gardiner said his party would “call a no confidence vote when we believe that those Conservative members of Parliament who have said that they would support a no confidence motion in the Government in order to stop a no-deal are likely to support it.”
Under the Fixed-term Parliaments Act if a motion of no confidence is passed, MPs have up to 14 days to try and agree to an alternative Government.
If they can’t reach any consensus then a General Election is triggered.
It’s not clear what the numbers would be in any vote. While the new prime minister will have a notional majority of just three, there are many backbenchers who despise him.
Though even the most strident of Johnson’s critics in the Tory ranks would baulk at the possibility of facilitating a Corbyn government, just a handful of rebels could effectively bring down the Old Etonian’s administration.
Last Friday, current chancellor Philip Hammond refused to rule out being one of those rebels.
He told Le Monde and Süddeutsche Zeitung: “I will take steps to avoid an exit without agreement apart from an explicit parliamentary approval.
“There should be a new and sincere attempt to reach a consensus. If we do not find a solution with the members, we may have to ask the British to give their opinion again, in one form or another.”
Asked again to rule out supporting a motion of no confidence, Hammond responded: “I do not exclude anything for the moment.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel