Labour leader slams Tory 'psychodrama' amid calls for vote of no confidence in government

The Conservatives are racked by division as the party prepares to pick new leader

British Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer. Getty

The Scottish National Party’s Ian Blackford has called on Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer to call a vote of no confidence in the Conservative government.

The UK is set to have its third prime minister in two months, and the political chaos engulfing the ruling party shows no signs of abating.

With the Tory leadership race to find a replacement for Liz Truss under way, the party remains bitterly divided.

Sir Keir has already said there needs to be a general election because the next prime minister will not have a mandate from British voters to lead.

Mr Blackford, the SNP’s leader in Westminster, vowed to work with other opposition parties to try to bring about a vote of no confidence in the government. His hope is that they would lose such a vote and it would force an early general election.

“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,” he told Sir Keir.

In a vote of no confidence, MPs from all parties would have a say in whether they want the government to continue.

Any MP can call for such a ballot, but there is no guarantee that their request will be granted.

But if the leader of the opposition party ushers in the motion, conventions states that the government must provide time for a debate.

The motion only needs a simple majority to pass — one more lawmaker needs to vote in favour than the number voting against. If the in favour side wins the government carries on as before.

Labour has in recent weeks surged in the polls to enjoy a 36-point lead over the Tories, putting them in good standing if a general election was held.

Sir Keir told The Sunday Times it is high time for a country-wide vote because the British public are “fed up to the back teeth with the Tory chaos” and had decided that the party is “unfit to govern the country” and “themselves”.

The Labour leader also urged disillusioned Tory MPs to put the interests of the British people first, as he warned the “psychodrama” gripping their party is “not a game” for people struggling to make ends meet.

Households across Britain are facing a winter of uncertainty due to soaring costs in food and energy.

Sir Keir warned the markets have already been spooked by the chaos caused by the actions of the government as he vowed Labour would be a government of “sound money”.

“The markets are now reacting to yet more uncertainty that is a direct result of this Tory government,” Sir Keir told The Sunday Times.

“That kamikaze mini-budget isn’t just going to be a footnote in a history book. People are paying the price for that: if your mortgage has gone up, if you’re not on a fixed mortgage, you are now going to have to pay an extra how many hundred pounds a month.

“This has cost the public hugely and I’ll tell you what will stabilise the markets, it is an incoming Labour government, with Rachel Reeves as the chancellor, with absolutely clear fiscal rules.”