Coalition of women touted to stop no-deal Brexit
A coalition of women, headed by Green MP Caroline Lucas, is bandying together to lead parliament if MPs go against Boris Johnson in a no-confidence vote.
Writing in the Guardian, Lucas said she had “reached out” to 10 female colleagues, including members for the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, Labour, SNP, Plaid Cymru and Independent Group for Change.
Yvette Cooper, Justine Greening, Anna Soubry, Nicola Sturgeon, Jo Swinson and Emily Thornberry are among those to have been contacted by Lucas.
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Together they would form an emergency cabinet to steer a national unity government and avoid a no deal Brext, Lucas said.
“This is not an attempt to replace one coup with another. A small group of us should not be deciding on Britain’s future and that is not what lies behind my initiative. But we need to find a way forward that allows the British people to decide which course they want to take,” Lucas wrote.
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“Political tribalism would likely scupper any moves that are just about putting Jeremy Corbyn in charge. So far the Labour leadership’s reaction has been to suggest they would not work in coalition with other parties, and politicians from some other parties have made clear that they would not serve under his leadership. A government of national unity must do exactly that – unite parties. And I believe that a cross-party cabinet of women has the potential to do exactly that.”
The cabinet would “press the pause button” on the Brexit process, although Lucas stressed her belief that “we accept the outcome of that fair, transparent and informed vote, even if it delivers a result we do not agree with.”.