Opposition calls grow for a UK general election

Labour leader being pressed to plan for a no confidence vote

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has the power to force the confidence vote but no guarantees it would be successful. Getty

The UK’s biggest opposition party is being urged to push for a vote of no confidence to tackle the crisis in British government that has left the ruling Conservatives looking for a third leader in two months and try to force a general election

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is being pressed by the Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP), a smaller opposition party in Parliament, to plan for a no-confidence vote.

The Conservatives are holding a second leadership contest this year after first Boris Johnson was forced out and then his successor Liz Truss had to resign over a now-disgraced budget that saw the markets slide and the pound slump.

The SNP leader in Westminster, Ian Blackford, vowed on Sunday to work with other opposition parties to try to make the vote happen.

Winning a motion of no confidence in the Conservative government could trigger an early general election. But to win the vote in Parliament, some Conservative MPs would have to vote with the opposition.

Mr Blackford has written to Sir Keir, who, as the leader of the opposition in the House of Commons, is the only MP who can submit a formal vote of no confidence motion.

The SNP MP insisted that opposition leaders “cannot stand idly by as the Tories attempt to impose their third prime minister”.

Mr Blackford told Sir Keir: “It is time to trigger a motion of no-confidence in this disastrous Tory government and — most importantly — it is time for people to have their say in a general election.”

Three Conservatives are in the running to become party leader, and with it prime minister — Rishi Sunak, Penny Mordaunt and Mr Johnson.

Mr Blackford insisted that “with a vacuum at the top of the Tory leadership”, the time was right to “trigger that motion and attempt to force a general election”.

He said: “I hope we can act together to stop this shambles, put maximum pressure on the Tories as they fight each other, and let the people have their democratic say in a general election.”

He also accused the Conservatives of having “taken a wrecking ball to the UK economy and made families suffer — as mortgage rates rise, pensions fall, and soaring inflation pushes up household bills”.

“Having done so much damage, they simply cannot be allowed to impose a third Tory prime minister without an election. It would be unthinkable and undemocratic. Voters must get a say,” he said.

He argued it was now “vital that opposition parties work together to force a vote of no confidence, and pile pressure on the Tories to call a general election, so voters can decide”.

Chris Bryant, a Labour MP and chairman of the Commons committee on standards, said that he believes the public wants a general election to “press the reset button”.

When asked about his opinion of Mr Johnson returning to high office, he said: “He's disgraced.”

“I'm a Labour MP, I don't fancy any of the three of them. I think we've got to a stage now where the people of this country think the only way you can press the reset button is to have a general election.

“Penny Mordaunt voted in Cabinet or allowed in Cabinet, [and] never said a word in Cabinet against the whole of the mini-budget that led to the economic crash that we've had.

“Rishi Sunak backs Boris Johnson all the way up until the very last moment, despite all the lies, and of course was himself involved in 'partygate', and Boris Johnson is a disgraced prime minister.

“The biggest problem for Boris if he does get elected as leader, [is] I suspect that quite a few Conservative MPs will either cross the floor or abandon support for him.”