'Inevitable' Labour will seek to oust PM if she loses Brexit vote

The opposition ramps up the pressure on Theresa May, who faces a struggle in getting her withdrawal agreement past MPs.

Shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer says it is "inevitable" Labour will seek to oust Theresa May if she loses a crunch Commons vote on her EU divorce deal.

Speaking to Sky News' Sophy Ridge on Sunday, the opposition frontbencher also confirmed he would work with other parties to start proceedings for contempt of parliament unless the government published in full its legal advice on Brexit.

The DUP - which props up the minority Conservative government at Westminster - was said to be ready to sign a joint letter to Speaker John Bercow on Monday unless ministers back down.

It represents a further headache for the prime minister as she faces an uphill struggle to secure support for the agreement she hammered out with Brussels.

Despite opposition parties as well as scores of Tory MPs threatening to reject the agreement, Brexit-backing Environment Secretary Michael Gove has insisted the government could win the crucial vote on 11 December, although he acknowledged it would be "challenging".

Sir Keir said Labour would seek to call a motion of no confidence in the government if MPs turned down the Brexit deal.

He said: "It seems to me that if the prime minister has lost a vote of that sort of significance then there has to be a question of confidence in the government.

"I think it's inevitable that we will seek to move that - obviously it will depend on what actually happens in nine days, it will depend on what the response is - but if she's lost a vote of this significance after two years of negotiation, then it is right that there should be a general election."

He also said a second referendum would be "far better" than Mrs May's deal.

Conservative Brexiteer and former cabinet minister Theresa Villiers said she would "have to look at the circumstances" before deciding how to vote if a no confidence motion in the prime minister was called.

She told Sky News: "I would certainly vote against any motion of no confidence in the government.

"If there was a confidence resolution in relation to the prime minister, I would have to look at the circumstances at the time, but my present intention would be to vote to have confidence in the prime minister."

Also appearing on Sophy Ridge on Sunday, Conservative Party chairman Brandon Lewis insisted the prime minister's deal is the "only option", insisting: "Plan B is plan A - it's to get this deal agreed."

He said: "It is the only deal that's there on the table, it's the only option we have got it: if this deal doesn't go through, we have the risk of no Brexit, no deal potentially ... there's a whole range of chaos that can come through."

Mr Lewis also said he was not planning for an early general election, telling the programme: "I don't think anybody watching this programme, having had two general elections and a referendum in the last three years, is looking for a general election or will thank the government for that."

Mr Gove warned the alternative to withdrawal agreement was either "no deal or no Brexit".

He told the BBC1's The Andrew Marr Show: "I believe that we can win the argument and win the vote. I know it is challenging.

"I reflected long and hard about this deal but I concluded, like lots of people, that while it is imperfect it is the right thing to do.

"One of the things that I hope people will have the chance to do over the next nine days is to recognise that we should not make the perfect the enemy of the good.

"We have got to recognise that if we don't vote for this, the alternatives are no deal or no Brexit."

Mr Gove acknowledged he was uncomfortable about the Northern Ireland "backstop" but said if it was used it would be even more uncomfortable for the EU.

Meanwhile, MPs at Westminster have accused ministers of ignoring the will of parliament after they said only that they would release a "full reasoned political statement" on the Brexit legal position.

It follows a binding Commons vote last month requiring the government to lay before parliament "any legal advice in full", including that given by Attorney General Geoffrey Cox on the withdrawal deal.

The row comes as it was reported Mr Cox, who is due to make a Commons statement on Monday, had warned the UK could be tied to the EU customs union "indefinitely" through the Northern Ireland "backstop".

Mr Starmer said parliament had ordered the government to provide the legal advice and if they failed to do so it risked getting into "very deep water".

"If they don't produce it tomorrow [Monday] then we will start contempt proceedings, this will be a collision course between the Government and Parliament," he said.
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