LOONY BLAIR
Tony Blair to plead with Jeremy Corbyn to vote down General Election motion, keeping Boris Johnson in power
TONY Blair will today plead with Jeremy Corbyn to BLOCK Boris Johnson from holding a snap election.
In a major speech today the former PM admits it would be “counter-intuitive” to keep Mr Johnson in power.
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But he warns Labour not to fall into the PM’s “elephant trap” of triggering a General Election because that could deliver a No Deal Brexit by default.
Yesterday Labour’s Brexit chief Sir Keir Starmer sent the same message to his leader and insisted Labour’s primary focus should be on passing new legislation to avoid a No Deal on October 31. If the law doesn’t change before October 31 then Britain will leave the EU without a deal.
The comments by Mr Blair and Sir Keir set Labour up for taking the extraordinary prospect of the Official Opposition voting down a motion to trigger a General Election and keeping Mr Johnson as Prime Minister.
LABOUR SPLIT
But in a sign of division within Labour’s frontbench over the strategy, Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell said a vote of no confidence could be launched this week as he admitted it will be “very difficult” to get legislation through by the end of the week.
He told Sky News that a confidence vote “clearly is still on the table”, adding: “The problem is time and that’s why the Prime Minister has used this measure.”
But today Mr Blair will warn that Mr McDonnell’s approach is exactly the trap that Mr Johnson wants Labour to fall into.
The former Labour PM will urge Mr Corbyn to instead side with the Lib Dems and prioritise a referendum over a General Election.
He will say: “Should the Government seek an Election, it should be refused in favour of a referendum.
“It is counter-intuitive for opposition parties to refuse an Election. But in this exceptional case, it is vital they do so as a matter of principle, until Brexit is resolved.
“Brexit is an issue which stands on its own, was originally decided on its own and should be reconsidered on its own.
£300bn Lab raid on firms
LABOUR’S plan for big companies to hand ten per cent of their shares to workers would amount to a £300billion state raid on the private sector, analysts said last night.
Office for National Statistics data was used by lawyers and experts from the FT to show how the scheme would strip the sum from 7,000 firms.
The plan by Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell would hit firms with more than 250 staff.
Last night he revealed another radical idea — a “right to buy” scheme for private tenants, that would strip landlords of their assets for less than the market price.
“But the Brexiteers are laying a trap, to seem as if pushed into an Election against their will, when they’re actively preparing for it.
“In backing away from the idea of himself as a ‘caretaker Prime Minister’ Jeremy Corbyn has behaved responsibly, and if he continues to put country first, he will benefit the country and himself. He can now play a decisive role in how Brexit develops.
“But he should see an Election for the elephant trap it is. If the Government tries to force an election, Labour should vote against it.”
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Keir Starmer says this coming week is the 'last chance' for parliament to stop a No Deal Brexit
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