Another opportunity missed?
Another opportunity missed? It seems that opposition parties still cannot agree on a possible caretaker prime minister in the event of Boris Johnson losing a confidence vote in parliament.
The failure to put aside party advantage is decisive. Constitutionally, it would be right for the Queen to ask the Leader of the Opposition if he could form a government. The Labour party received 41% of the vote in the general election. By all accounts, the SNP would support him.
It is easy enough to conjure alternative names out of a hat: Margaret Beckett, Ken Clarke. But these are desperate attempts to avoid Jeremy Corbyn entering No 10 Downing Street as Prime Minister.
Why should they want to do that? Isn't stopping a 'no-deal' Brexit more critical?
Jo Swinson, the LibDem leader, says it is because "he is unfit to govern." One wonders why she considers Jeremy Corbyn less able than Boris Johnson, or even herself.
No, it is for party advantage. What they desperately want to avoid is Jeremy Corbyn looking "Prime-ministerial". The trappings of office change perceptions. Who knows Corbyn may be seen to do an excellent job of the task in hand.
The most straightforward move to stop Boris, and probably the most persuasive, is to put Jeremy Corbyn in as caretaker prime minister. The failure to agree on that simply reflects the appallingly bad tactics of Remainers in parliament.
In the end, should we leave the EU without a deal, or with a bad last-ditch agreement cobbled together by Boris Johnson, Remain MPs would be as responsible for this calamity as Boris Johnson.
They have it in their grasp to stop Boris. Their failure to do so has more to do with party politics and manoeuvring for the general election than it does Brexit. They are putting party before country.
The failure to put aside party advantage is decisive. Constitutionally, it would be right for the Queen to ask the Leader of the Opposition if he could form a government. The Labour party received 41% of the vote in the general election. By all accounts, the SNP would support him.
It is easy enough to conjure alternative names out of a hat: Margaret Beckett, Ken Clarke. But these are desperate attempts to avoid Jeremy Corbyn entering No 10 Downing Street as Prime Minister.
Why should they want to do that? Isn't stopping a 'no-deal' Brexit more critical?
Jo Swinson, the LibDem leader, says it is because "he is unfit to govern." One wonders why she considers Jeremy Corbyn less able than Boris Johnson, or even herself.
No, it is for party advantage. What they desperately want to avoid is Jeremy Corbyn looking "Prime-ministerial". The trappings of office change perceptions. Who knows Corbyn may be seen to do an excellent job of the task in hand.
The most straightforward move to stop Boris, and probably the most persuasive, is to put Jeremy Corbyn in as caretaker prime minister. The failure to agree on that simply reflects the appallingly bad tactics of Remainers in parliament.
In the end, should we leave the EU without a deal, or with a bad last-ditch agreement cobbled together by Boris Johnson, Remain MPs would be as responsible for this calamity as Boris Johnson.
They have it in their grasp to stop Boris. Their failure to do so has more to do with party politics and manoeuvring for the general election than it does Brexit. They are putting party before country.
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