Keir Starmer says Labour will work with other parties to block no-deal Brexit
2 min read
Labour will work with MPs from other parties to stop the UK falling "off a cliff" by crashing out of the EU without a deal, Keir Starmer has declared.
The Shadow Brexit Secretary said no deal "is not an option" if the Commons votes down the withdrawal agreement struck between Theresa May and Brussels.
He told a meeting of Labour MPs and peers that a range of Parliamentary devices could be used to prevent a no-deal scenario, which many experts have said would cause economic chaos.
Theresa May is facing almost-certain defeat when she brings her Brexit deal to the Commons next month, with Labour, the SNP, Lib Dems, the DUP and many Tories vowing to vote it down.
Sir Keir told a meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party: "The deal the Prime Minister has brought back is a miserable failure of negotiation. It falls far short of a deal Labour could support.
"If Theresa May’s deal fails to command the support of Parliament, then we will not stand back and allow her to take this country off a cliff. No deal is not an option. Labour will not countenance no deal - and nor would many of the Prime Minister’s own MPs.
"It would be politically unsustainable for any government to deliver a no deal without the consent of Parliament. There will be opportunities to make the majority against no deal heard. Motions will be tabled, amendments will be pressed and a no confidence vote can be triggered.
"And let me be clear: Labour will work with all sides to make that happen."
His comments came after Jeremy Corbyn told business leaders attending the CBI annual conference that Brexit could be a "catalyst" for the economic transformation of the country.
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