2019 United Kingdom Political Crisis
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Part of a series on United Kingdom Withdrawal From the European Union / Brexit. [View Related Entries]
About
The 2019 United Kingdom Political Crisis refers to a political controversy which arose in the aftermath of the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum where the United Kingdom voted to leave. After voting leave, the United Kingdom and the European Union began entering a two year period of Brexit negotiations with the aim to secure a Brexit deal for the United Kingdom when they leave the EU.
In light of this, it resulted in a parliamentary deadlock in the House of Commons as Members of Parliament (MPs) did not provide an overall majority for the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Theresa May's Brexit deal along with a series of indictative votes.
The crisis mainly arose in the aftermath of Theresa May's Brexit deal being defeated for a second time ahead of the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union on January 31st, 2020
Background
The United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union in a referendum which took place on June 23rd, 2016. In the wake of this, David Cameron, who was Prime Minister at the time, resigned and Theresa May was elected as the new prime minister.
Theresa May invoked Article 50, the document that allows a member country withdrawing from the European Union, on March 29th, 2017. This began the two-year negotiation period where in which the United Kingdom and European Union would agree on a deal that allows the United Kingdom to leave the European Union.[1][2]
Developments
Meaningful Votes
As Theresa May secured a deal from the European Union, it was brought to Parliament to be voted upon on January 15th, 2019, which was to be voted on December 18th, 2018 but it was delayed by Theresa May due to not enough support. The first meaningful vote resulted in 202 MPs voting for Theresa May's deal whilst 432 MPs voted against it (clip below, left).
After making minor changes to the deal, Theresa May brought the deal back in a second meaningful vote took place on March 12th, 2019 which resulted in 242 MPs voting for it whilst 391 voted against it (clip below, right).
A third meaningful vote was brought back in the Commons on March 29th, 2019, the original date for the United Kingdom to leave the European Union. This again resulted in a loss for the government which resulted in 286 MPs voting for it whilst 344 voted against it.
A fourth meaningful vote is set to come to the House of Commons in early June 2019. Theresa May set out changes in the deal with the promise of allowing MPs to vote on whether a second referendum should be held if the renewed Brexit deal was passed.
Subsequent votes
No Deal Vote
On March 13th, 2019, a day after the second meaningful, MPs had voted against the United Kingdom leaving the European Union with no deal with 312 MPs voting to reject no deal whilst 308 MPs voting for no deal.
Article 50 Extension Vote
On March 14th, 2019, a day after the no deal vote, MPs had the opportunity to vote whether to extend Article 50, which would prevent the United Kingdom from leaving the European Union on March 29th, 2019 if the 27 European Union member countries would agree to an extension. MPs voted 412 to 202 to request an extension to Article 50.
Second Brexit Referendum Vote
Also on March 14th, 2019, MPs had voted on whether they would agree to a second Brexit referendum which was overwhelmingly rejected by 249 votes due to Labour Party abstaining the vote. MPs voted 85 for and 334 against.
John Bercow's Intervention
On March 18th, 2019, after it was revealed that Theresa May was planning on bringing her deal back to be voted on for a third time, John Bercow, the speaker of the House of Commons, ruled that such a vote would not take place under the Erskine May: Parliamentary Practice parliamentary document which it states that any vote that is brought back to the House of Commons without substantial changes would not be allowed.
First Article 50 Extension
After Bercow's intervention, Theresa May held a meeting with the cabinet and stated that she would go and request an extension to Article 50 at the European Union summit on March 21st, 2019.
Brexiteer MPs claimed that if an extension were to happen and if it was a long extension, they stated that Theresa May would need to resign as prime minister and leader of the Conservatives if they wanted a deal through parliament.
On March 19th, 2019, the European Union Chief Negotiator Michel Barnier said that the only way the European Union would allow such an extension is if there is a good reason for the United Kingdom to use the extension. He also said that if there was a delay, then a second Brexit referendum and/or a general election should be expected.
On March 20th, 2019, Theresa May announced that she would seek a short three-month extension to Article 50. The European Union agreed to the extension to last until May 22nd, 2019 if Theresa May's third meaningful vote was passed in the House of Commons. If the vote didn't pass, the European Union stated that the extension would only last until April 12th, 2019.
Theresa May's Downing Street Speech
On March 20th, 2019, Theresa May addressed the nation on the next steps of Brexit. She was later accused of attacking MPs in her speech and she claimed that she was on the public's side.
Revoke Article 50 Petition
On March 20th, 2019, a petition calling for Article 50 to be revoked went viral after Theresa May addressed the nation and after blaming MPs for allowing her Brexit deal to go through, thousands of people signed had later started signing it. Within two days, the petition gained over 2 million signatures. Despite the high number of signatures, Theresa May stated that no change would occur due to the United Kingdom voting to leave the European Union in 2016.
On March 26th, 2019, the government responded to the petition stating that they would not revoke Article 50 in respect of the 2016 referendum result.
Put It To The People March
On March 23rd, 2019, over one million people attended the Put It To The People March which was organised by People's Vote, a campaign group aiming to call on the government to grant a second referendum on EU membership by allowing the public to vote on the final Brexit deal.
Indicative Votes
A series of indicative votes were held on March 29th, 2019 and April 1st, 2019 respectively with the aim to break the Brexit deadlock. Motions for both indictative votes failed to gain overall majoritys among MPs.
First Round
On March 27th, 2019, MPs rejected all of the 8 motions in a series of ballot votes
- Leave the EU with no deal lost with 160 voting in favour and 400 voting against
- A Common Market 2.0 plan lost with 188 voting in favour and 283 voting against
- EFTA/EEA plan lost with 65 voting in favour and 377 voting against.
- A Customs union plan lost with 264 voting in favour and 272 voting against.
- Labour's alternative plan lost with 237 voting in favour whilst 307 voting against.
- A motion to revoke Article 50 lost with 184 voting in favour and 293 voting against.
- A plan to hold a second referendum lost with 268 voting in favour and 295 voting against
- A managed no deal lost with 139 voting in favour and 422 voting against
Second Round
On April 1st, 2019, a second set of indictative votes took place with the speaker John Bercow selecting four motions which include:
- A motion for the Customs union plan lost by three votes with 273 voting in favour and 276 voting against.
- A motion for the Common Market 2.0 plan lost with 261 voting in favour and 282 voting against.
- A motion for a second referendum to be held lost with 282 voting in favour and 292 voting against
- A motion for a revocation of Article 50 lost with 191 voting in favour and 292 voting against
Second Article 50 extension
On April 2nd, 2019, Theresa May held a seven hour cabinet meeting. She made a statement in Downing Street where she said that the United Kingdom would seek a further extension. Theresa May called on Jeremy Corbyn to assist to co-operate in any way possible for a Brexit deal to be brought through in which in turn happily agreeing.
Talks between the government and the Labour Party broke down and nothing was agreed. Donald Tusk, president of the European Council offered a year extension for Article 50 for the UK compared to Theresa May's request to extend Article 50 until June 30th, 2019.
On April 10th, 2019, the European Union offered an extension to October 31, 2019 in which the government had accepted.
Conservative and Labour Talks
After the United Kingdom accepted an extension to Article 50 until October 31st, 2019, the Conservative government invited Labour to talks on a way to find a possible route to get a withdrawal agreement through the UK Parliament.
On May 17th, 2019, Jeremy Corbyn had confirmed that talks between both the government and the Labour Party had 'went as far as they could go'.
Theresa May's New Brexit Deal
After talks with the Labour Party, Theresa May presented a new and improved Brexit deal with the option of a vote on a second referendum on May 21st, 2019. This was met with severe criticism from members of the Conservative Party as well as the Labour Party and the SNP who stated that they would oppose voting for the improved deal package.
On May 22nd, 2019, in response to the new deal, leader of the House of Commons, Andrea Leadsom resigned from the government prompting further pressure on Theresa May to resign.
Resignation of Theresa May
On May 24th, 2019, Theresa May announced that she would resign as leader of the Conservative Party and Prime Minister on June 7th, 2019.
Beforehand, on March 27th, 2019, Theresa May had announced her intention to resign as Prime Minister if the withdrawal agreement was passed through by parliament.
She discussed her intention to stand down with members of the Conservative Party's 1922 Committe.
“This has been a testing time for our country and our party. We’re nearly there. We’re almost ready to start a new chapter and build that brighter future. But before we can do that, we have to finish the job in hand.As I say, I don’t tour the bars and engage in the gossip – but I do make time to speak to colleagues, and I have a great team in the Whips' Office.I also have two excellent PPSs. And I have heard very clearly the mood of the parliamentary party. I know there is a desire for a new approach – and new leadership – in the second phase of the Brexit negotiations – and I won’t stand in the way of that.I know some people are worried that if you vote for the Withdrawal Agreement, I will take that as a mandate to rush on into phase two without the debate we need to have.I won’t – I hear what you are saying. But we need to get the deal through and deliver Brexit.I am prepared to leave this job earlier than I intended in order to do what is right for our country and our party. I ask everyone in this room to back the deal so we can complete our historic duty – to deliver on the decision of the British people and leave the European Union with a smooth and orderly exit.
2019 European Parliament Elections
With the United Kingdom due to leave the European Union originally on March 29th, 2019, two years later, it was implied that the United Kingdom would not take part in the European Parliament elections in May 2019. The withdrawal agreement that Theresa May came back which was voted down resulted in a delay to April 12th, 2019 and it was delayed again to October 31st, 2019, which triggered the United Kingdom having to take part in the elections.
The Brexit Party won the most votes and the most seats – winning 29, the Liberal Democrats increased their votes and seats – winning 16 – overall resulting in their best ever European election.
Labour lost votes due to their ambiguous stance on Brexit, resulting in the party winning only 10 seats. The Conservatives lost 15 seats from the last election, winning only 4, mainly due to the party's failure on delivering Brexit.
In Scotland, the Scottish National Party (SNP) won the majority of votes and seats – winning 3, gaining one from the last election and won 30 out of the 32 Scottish council areas with all areas across the Scottish mainland voting SNP, the party gained the highest vote share in the UK and any other party in Western Europe where the party polled at 50% – this overall resulted in the SNP's best ever European election.
The Green Party gained 4 seats at the election, winning 7 overall and UKIP lost all of their MEPs at the election. Tommy Robinson, who stood as an Independent candidate failed to gain a seat as well. Change UK also failed to win any seats.
Collapse of the two-party system
Due to the stances of the two main parties on Brexit – the Conservative Party and Labour Party saw a decline in voting percentage for next elections, from 40-45% each on average in late 2017 to 15-22% on average in mid 2019.
On June 1st, 2019, YouGov and Opinium released polls on forecasts for the next United Kingdom general election. These polls saw the Liberal Democrats and the Brexit Party increase their voter percentage higher than the Conservative Party and Labour Party. The YouGov poll which was conducted from May 28th-29th put the Liberal Democrats on 24%, 5% higher than the Conservative and Labour Party and 2% higher than the Brexit Party who sat on 22%.
A second poll was released on the same day which had the Brexit Party leading on 26%, followed by the Labour Party on 22%. The Liberal Democrats were 16% with the Conservative Party ahead of them by 1%, sitting on 17%.
Labour No-Deal Vote
On June 12th, 2019, the House of Commons held a vote that was tabled by Labour to prevent the United Kingdom leaving without a deal. This was subsequently defeated 309 votes to 298 votes thus keeping the prospect of no-deal on the table.
July 2019 Leadership Elections
2019 Conservative Party Leadership Election
In the wake of Theresa May's planned resignation, a new Conservative Party Leadership election was discussed for the first time. Some reports have suggested that Theresa May will resign on June 10th, 2019 which will trigger the leadership election and see a new Conservative leader – and by extension Prime Minister by July 22nd, 2019.
During the campaign, several television debates were held. Channel 4 held the first debate, moderated by Krishnan Guru-Murthy, the BBC held the second debate, moderated by Emily Maitlis, Sky News held the third debate with a one to one examination between moderator Kay Burley and leadership candidate Jeremy Hunt. A fourth and fifth debate is scheduled to be held by the BBC and ITV respectively.
2019 Liberal Democrats Leadership Election
A leadership election was also triggered for the Liberal Democrats after Vince Cable intended to resign as party leader in the aftermath of the 2019 local council elections in England. He intended to step down because he wanted someone else to lead the party that he managed to mend.
Two candidates put themselves forward, Jo Swinson and Ed Davey. Jo Swinson announced her candidacy on 30th May 2019 as did Ed Davey.
The two took part in leadership debates on the BBC, moderated by Victoria Derbyshire, Channel 4 and Sky News, moderated by Adam Boulton.
Jo Swinson received a considerable amount of criticism during the campaign, being branded as a 'hypocrite' for advocating for a second referendum on Brexit but not on Scottish independence.
Result
Jo Swinson won the leadership election after securing 47,997 votes with 63% of the vote whilst runner-up Ed Davey secured 28,021 votes with 37% of the vote.
Proroguation of Parliament Vote
On July 18th, 2019, the House of Commons voted on whether the idea to prorouge parliament should be passed or blocked in an event where Boris Johnson becomes Prime Minister, who has warned that Britain would leave the EU, do or die, on October 31st, 2019.
315 MPs voted to block a proroguation of the parliament whilst 274 voted for it.
Appointment of Boris Johnson
After winning the Conservative leadership election, Boris Johnson was later appointed by Queen Elizabeth II to replace Theresa May as Prime Minister.
Boris Johnson reshuffled the cabinet as part of his new premiership. Sajid Javid was appointed Chancellor, Priti Patel was appointed Home Secretary and Dominic Raab was appointed as First Secretary of State whilst Stephen Barclay retained his position as Secretary for Exiting the European Union.
Recall Parliament Campaign
On August 16th, 2019, 110 MPs wrote to Boris Johnson asking if he could seek to recall Parliament to debate Brexit as parliament was currently in recess. The letter was posted on to Twitter by Independent MP Luiciana Berger posted a picture of a letter and signed by all leaders of political parties, bar Jeremy Corbyn of the Labour Party.
Once Berger posted the letter on to Twitter, #RecallParliament and #RecallNow trended in the United Kingdom on the platform.
Operation Yellowhammer
In mid-August 2019, a document entitled "Operation Yellowhammer" was leaked. The document was prepared in the lead up to a potential no-deal Brexit which was predicting that it would lead to food, medicine and petrol shortages, with a hard border in the island of Ireland, and "three-month meltdown" at ports unable to cope with extra checks. There could be protests requiring police action, and thousands of jobs could be lost as two oil refineries closed. Government ministers disputed the report and dismissed its warnings as "worst-case".
However, the Sunday Times, according to The Observer, said that a senior Whitehall source said "This is not Project Fear, this is the most realistic assessment of what the public face with no deal. These are likely, basic, reasonable scenarios – not the worst case."
Resignation of Ruth Davidson
On August 29th, 2019, Ruth Davidson resigned as leader of the Scottish Conservative Party, citing the conflict between her and Boris Johnson's stance on Brexit and the pressure of motherhood.
The day before, the Scottish Sun reported that Ruth Davidson was 'on the verge of resigning' due to complications with Conservative Party leader Boris Johnson and the pressure with motherhood after giving birth to her first child in October 2018.
Ruth Davidson confirmed her resignation the next day and stated that she would remain an MSP until 2021.
Deputy Leader of the Scottish Conservatives, Jackson Carlaw, who previously stood in for Davidson during her maternity leave, was announced as interim leader of the party ahead of the leadership election, due to take place in October 2019.
Prorogation of Parliament
On August 28th, 2019, the UK Government requested to the Queen to proroge parliament. This was met with severe amounts of criticism by the opponents of a no deal Brexit.
The UK Government confirmed that Boris Johnson spoke to the Queen about the request and why it was the best option. The government announced that it would seek prorogation by mid-September with a Queen's Speech was later announced for October 2019.
Stop the Coup Protests
In reaction to the prorogation of parliament, a considerable amount of demonstrations took place across the United Kingdom protesting against the government's decision.
No-Deal Legislation Vote
On August 29th, 2019, opposition MPs asked for legislation to be implemented in parliament to block no deal and ask for a further extension of Article 50.
Michael Gove stated that the government would look at the legislation proposed but said it would be unlikely for it to be passed or granted by the government.
Boris Johnson stated that whenever the vote of the legislation occurred, he would suspend any Conservative MPs voting for it, where some speculated that it would lose Boris Johnson's majority, thus leading the government to propose a general election
Prorogation of Parliament Legal Actions
The government was brought to court in a legal action over suspending parliament without a reasonable explanation in August 2019. It was later found that the propagation was unlawful which resulted in parliament being returned the next working day.
Second Article 50 extension
Snap General Election
On July 16th, 2019, the Times reported that newly elected Prime Minister, Boris Johnson could call a general election in summer 2020 to "beat off Labour" and Jeremy Corbyn after the UK is due to leave the European Union on October 31st, 2019.
Boris Johnson's stance on a no-deal Brexit has been met with a considerable amount of criticism as he stated that he planned for the UK to leave the European Union on October 31st, 2019, with or without a deal.
Boris Johnson's push for a no deal Brexit scenario could lead to a vote of no confidence in the government which then could lead to a general election being held with Boris Johnson seeking to win a mandate to push ahead with a no-deal Brexit.
In August 2019, there was growing speculation that Parliament would hold a motion of no confidence vote in the government when Parliament reconvened in September 2019, which could lead to a general election.
Many suggested that it was for Boris Johnson to prevent facing a motion of no confidence or try and force through a no deal Brexit during an election campaign
This has added to speculation that Boris Johnson may call a snap general election in September to be held in November after the UK leaves the EU.
During this time, Jeremy Corbyn raised concerns that the UK Government could try and force through a no deal Brexit during a general election campaign.
Due to the prorogation of parliament, opposition MPs proposed legislation for no deal to be blocked and if such a vote for legislation was to be implemented and Conservative MPs voted for it, Boris Johnson stated that he would deselect and suspend Conservative MPs who would vote against the government. Due to the possibility of this, some speculate that it would lead to Boris Johnson losing a chunk of his majority thus leading to the government to possibly call a general election for October or November 2019.
On August 13th, 2019, former Education Secretary Damian Hinds accidentally leaked an email onto his Instagram story which had the title "GE2019 team" as the title, "GE", standing for general election.
The Instagram story was later deleted and it prompted further speculation that a snap general election was inevitable.
On September 3rd, 2019, after legislation was passed for MPs to debate delaying Article 50 until January 31st, 2020, Boris Johnson called for a motion for a snap general election to be held on October 15th, 2019.
On September 4th, 2019, MPs voted against/abstained a motion for an early general election to be held on October 15th, 2019. This was due to the hinted speculation that Boris Johnson could move the date of the election to after the October 31st deadline of leaving the European Union to force a no deal Brexit through during the campaign.
On October 27th, 2019, after several failed attempts to win support for a general election, the government introduced a one-line bill which would need a simple majority vote for a general election to be held. The one-line bill passed and a general election was scheduled for December 12th, 2019, the first time a general election has been held in the UK since 1923.
The election resulted in a Conservative Party landslide with 365 seats, gaining 48 seats, the Labour Party won only 203 seats, losing 53 seats. The Scottish National Party won a landslide in Scotland where they won 48 seats, a gain of 13, including Jo Swinson's, leader of the Liberal Democrats seat.
In the aftermath of the election, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson both intended to resign. Jo Swinson resigned imminently whilst Jeremy Corbyn said he would stay on 'into the new year'.
Withdrawal Agreement Vote
Due to the Conservative Party's landslide in the general election, the House of Commons managed to pass the government's withdrawal agreement on December 19th, 2019. 358 MPs voted in favour of the bill whilst 234 MPs voted against the bill.
Reactions
Meaningful votes
After the government lost the two meaningful votes, Scottish National Party Westminster leader Ian Blackford, Liberal Democrats leader Vince Cable and Caroline Lucas, the only Green MP in the House of Commons had called on the government to allow a second European Union referendum to be held.
There were suggestions that a general election or a dissolution of the current parliamentary session could be an opportunity to get a third meaningful vote through Parliament.
Labour also threatened a new vote of no confidence in the government.
John Bercow's Intervention
Following John Bercow's intervention, many newspapers and media outlets had reported on Bercow's intervention. Twitter[3] user @lewis_goodall tweeted, "These front pages are truly hilarious. They seem to rest on the fanciful idea that May’s Brexit deal was sailing through before Bercow got involved. After all, it had only suffered the biggest and fourth biggest defeats in parliamentary history. Utterly bizarre." The post received more than 3,300 retweets and 8,000 likes in less than one month (shown below).
Theresa May's Downing Street speech
After Theresa May's Downing Street speech on March 20th, 2019, many MPs and Twitter users attacked Theresa May due to her attitude towards MPs and claiming to be on the public's side. Theresa May trended at number 1 on Twitter whilst Revoke Article 50 and General Election were trending in the United Kingdom during and after her speech.
Second Article 50 extension
After Theresa May stated that she intended to grant a further extension to Article 50 beyond April 12th, 2019, this was met with a mixed reaction with Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the Labour Party accepting Theresa May's offer to co-operate to get a Brexit deal through.
Michel Barnier, the EU's Chief Negotiator had said that the European Union would be able to grant an extension on the terms that a general election or a second referendum would need to be held.
The European Union have also said that if an extension is granted, the UK would be expected to take part in European Parliament elections which take place on May 23rd, 2019.
Resignation of Theresa May
After resigning Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the Labour Party said on Twitter that it was a right decision and called on the next Prime Minister to call a general election.
Nicola Sturgeon, the First Minister of Scotland said that she believed that 'as a country we should thank her for her service', she went on to say that there should be a general election as well but also criticised Theresa May for being an 'incompetent Prime Minister'
Ruth Davidson and the Scottish Conservatives thanked Theresa May for her service as Prime Minister.
Both Nicola Sturgeon and Ruth Davidson engaged in a mini-feud on Twitter as Ruth Davidson claimed that Nicola Sturgeon was a hypocrite when she said that the next Prime Minister shouldn't be 'installed' into Downing Street without a general election when Nicola Sturgeon was 'installed' into Bute House after Alex Salmond resigned in the aftermath of the 2014 Scottish independence referendum.
Twitter users hit back at Ruth Davidson citing that Nicola Sturgeon did in fact win a First Minister election in the Scottish Parliament in 2014 where she won 66 votes compared to Ruth Davidson who only won 15 votes.
David Cameron, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 until 2016, before Theresa May, said that he felt sorry for Theresa May and said that 'today should be the day we thank Theresa May for what she has done to the country'.
Public reaction was negative with many mocking, citing and insulting Theresa May for crying because she had to resign but she didn't cry for the victims of Grenfell, the Windrush scandal and the growing poverty in the United Kingdom during her premiership.
Several photos and videos were posted onto social media which mocked the resignation of Theresa May such as photoshopping the BBC News announcement of her resigning over the video of England scoring a goal at the World Cup with a huge audience celebrating.
Appointment of Boris Johnson
After Boris Johnson was elected leader of the Conservatives and later made Prime Minister due to this
Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the Labour Party and Opposition congratulated Johnson on his win however he did state that Boris Johnson should call a general election to ensure he has a mandate to govern as Prime Minister.
First Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon said that she had 'profound concerns' of Boris Johnson becoming leader. She said that his appointment as Prime Minister has helped boost support for independence further for Scotland.
US President Donald Trump congratulated Boris Johnson. In a speech that he made reacting to the news, Donald Trump said to the crowd in New York that they call Boris Johnson, 'British Trump'. Trump also praised Johnson for being smart, great and committed.
Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage said that he'd be willing to work with Boris Johnson and the Conservatives if Boris was committed to delivering Brexit by October 31st.
Constitutional impact
Scottish independence
Due to the ever increasing risk of Brexit and by extension, a no-deal Brexit, Scottish people seem to be persuaded to vote for Scottish independence according to polls as of June 2019.
A second independence referendum has already been proposed by the Scottish Government and has been endorsed by the Scottish Parliament in the event that Scotland is damaged due to Brexit.
A poll conducted during April and June 2019 showed that 51% of Scottish people would vote for Scottish independence.
Welsh independence
Plaid Cymru has advocated for a Welsh independence referendum to be held if a second referendum on Brexit to be held. The first march for Welsh independence took place in April 2019.
Irish reunification
To prevent the border issue with Northern Ireland and by extension with the majority of Northern Ireland voting to Remain in the European Union, Sinn Fein, a political party in Northern Ireland has suggested Irish reunification to sort the problems out with Brexit and Ireland issues.
Other events
2019 British Party Splits
In February and March 2019, several Members of Parliament (MPs) from the Labour Party and the Conservative Party resigned to form a new independent group entitled "The Independent Group", later known as "Change UK".
The resignations of the MPs came after they did not agree the direction the party was going in with Brexit as well as Labour's antisemitism controversy being a considerable factor in those resignations. The split was met with mixed opinions from politicians, journalists and other public figures. The split was the biggest to occur since 1981 when the Social Democratic Party was formed by four Labour MPs who defected from the party.
"Scottish Labour Civil War"
With the ever growing realisation of a no-deal Brexit and because of the way Scotland was being treated by Westminster during the Brexit process, a new poll was released by Lord Ashcroft which showed that a majority of Scots backed the idea of Scottish independence.
52% of people who responded to the poll supporting Scotland becoming an independent country of the United Kingdom whilst 48% of people who responded said they were against the idea of Scotland becoming an independent country. The poll gained further attention due to the absence of 16-17 year olds and EU nationals in the poll which inevitably put the Yes support higher.
In the wake of the poll, Labour Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell said that a Labour government would not block a second independence referendum. In response to this, Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard stated that their policy was to oppose another referendum on Scottish independence.
Further tensions occurred between the Scottish Labour and the Labour Party when Jeremy Corbyn said that a second referendum on independence would be 'absolutely fine'.
On August 8th, 2019, a parliamentary statement by Scottish Labour group leader Jackie Baillie regarding Labour's independence policy was leaked against Richard Leonard's permission.
Proposed Government of National Unity
On August 15th, 2019, the Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn sent a letter to all the leaders of the main political parties in the House of Commons in a proposed bid to overthrow Boris Johnson's government in a vote of no confidence.
The proposed idea of a government of national unity set out by Corbyn would see him become a temporary Prime Minister for a few weeks to prevent a no-deal Brexit until a snap general election would be called.
Reactions
In reaction to the letter, Liberal Democrats leader Jo Swinson said that it was unfeasible for a government of national unity to be formed under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn and she instead opted for Harriet Harman or Kenneth Clarke, the Mother and Father of the House, to be temporary PM in an emergency government.
#NoDealLibDems
#NoDealLibDems refers to a hashtag that was used on Twitter in the following hours of Jo Swinson's reaction to Jeremy Corbyn's request for a vote of no confidence support in the government where she refused to work with him to prevent a no-deal Brexit.
The hashtag started trending alongside "Swinson", #JoSwinsonIsATory and #LibDems at the same time.
Jo gained considerable backlash for refusing to support an interim government with Jeremy Corbyn and there were calls from a few Labour members and Remain supporters for her to resign for attempting to stop the idea of preventing a no-deal.
Caroline Lucas, leader of the Green Party welcomed the proposal but said that a second referendum should need to be held before a general election to ensure no-deal Brexit
Plaid Cymru welcomed the idea under the condition that Jeremy Corbyn would up and foremost back Remain in a second referendum.
Nicola Sturgeon, leader of the Scottish National Party and First Minister of Scotland, stated that forming a government of national unity was the upmost important thing to deliver to prevent no-deal followed by a general election or a second referendum.
Related Memes
Theresa May's "What On Earth's Happening With Brexit" Video
On April 7th, 2019, Theresa May had published a video on to the UK Prime Minister Twitter account (@10DowningStreet) explaining the situation that has been going on with Brexit in the last few weeks.
PM
Theresa_May</a> explains what's happening with Brexit. <a href="https://t.co/rHnROzm3SH">pic.twitter.com/rHnROzm3SH</a></p>— UK Prime Minister (10DowningStreet) April 7, 2019
In the video, Theresa May explains the situation that the country is in and what the next steps the government were planning to go through.
The video had went viral and received over 2,100 likes and over 930 retweets in the past 24 hours.
Brexit on Halloween
In response to Brexit being extended until October 31st, 2019, many Facebook and Twitter users mocked the decision made by the European Union to extend the date to Halloween.
External References
[1] New York – U.K.’s Brexit Meltdown Morphs Into a ‘Major Constitutional Crisis’
[3] Twitter – @lewis_goodall's Tweet
[4] Due to the 2018 Conservative no confidence vote against Theresa May in which she won, the Conservative Party cannot oust Theresa May until December 2019 under the rules of the 1922 Committee party rules.
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