John McDonnell says Labour in talks with Tory MPs to stop 'no deal' Brexit
2 min read
Labour are talking to Conservative MPs in a bid to form a Commons majority against a 'no deal' Brexit, John McDonnell revealed this morning.
The Shadow Chancellor said he would "not countenance" leaving the bloc without negotiating a new trading relationship.
His intervention comes after Theresa May said this week the Government was setting aside money to prepare for a possible 'no deal' scenario.
The head of the European Council, Donald Tusk, has also warned of the risks if there is not more progress on exit talks before December.
Reports this morning suggest MPs from across the House will attempt to steer Theresa May into reaching a deal through tabling hundreds of amendments to the landmark EU Withdrawal Bill.
One amendment tabled by former Attorney General Dominic Grieve would require a separate act of Parliament on the final deal, while another – tabled by Ken Clarke - would write a two-year transition period into the legislation.
Mr McDonnell said he believed a cross-party effort to amend the EU Withdrawal Bill could force the Government's hand.
"I don't believe there's a majority in the House of Commons for no deal and I think the Government needs to recognise that," he told the Andrew Marr Show.
"When we amend the legislation, which I think we will, I think there's a majority for that, to have a meaningful vote, which is what we've said all along, we'll be able to say to Government 'whatever you're negotiating it will not be on the basis of no deal because the damage to this economy will be too great'."
Asked whether that included discussions with Conservative backbenchers, he replied: "There are discussions going right the way across the House."
NEGOTIATING TACTICS
The veteran leftwinger rejected the idea that ruling out 'no deal' would leave Britain with a poor negotiating hand.
He pointed to his experience before entering Parliament, saying: "I'm a trade union negotiator, I was chief executive of the Local Government Association, with an office in Brussels. I negotiated in Brussels, you do not negotiate in this way from any negotiation. What you say is 'what's our mutual interest?' and you have mutual respect.
"And on the basis of mutual interest and mutual respect we believe we can get a decent deal because our European partners are as dependent on us as we are on them. It will damage them as much as us.
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