A minority government could be formed by Labour if Theresa May doesn’t get enough support for her Brexit vote, according to Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell.
Opposition parties are working to offer up alternatives to the possibility of a No-deal Brexit, which is what the Prime Minister has promised is the only option if her bill is not supported.
Speaking at a Reuters event, John McDonnell MP said that there were a number of steps from this point:
“If it’s a minority government and they can’t obtain a majority in parliament, usually it’s then the right, the duty of the Monarch to offer to the Opposition the opportunity to form a government and that would be a minority government, and see if they can secure a majority in parliament.”
Following this possibility, the new government would then attempt to push through its own version of Brexit.
Finally, if this did not occur, then the last resort would be a general election.
Under the Fixed Term Parliament Act, this would require the support of two thirds of MPs. Jeremy Corbyn has expressed this as his preferred option, however McDonnell thinks this would be difficult to follow through on because of the two thirds rule.
Theresa May has today gone to Brussels to meet with EU delegations for discussions that she hopes will finalise her Brexit plan.
If this is successful, parliament will be able to vote on the bill.
