Nicola Sturgeon accuses Jeremy Corbyn of stalling on vote to topple PM

Nicola Sturgeon has accused Jeremy Corbyn and his Labour Party of stalling over a parliamentary confidence motion in Theresa May's leadership and 'sitting on the fence' about a second EU referendum.

By The Newsroom Tuesday, 11th December 2018, 9:13 am Updated Tuesday, 11th December 2018, 10:20 am

The First Minister said her MPs had held talks with the official opposition in Westminster on Monday about the next steps to take.

She told the BBC’s Today programme: "As I understand it, they don't think the time is right for a motion of confidence.

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"For goodness sake, if the time is not right now, when will the time be right? "The clock is ticking, time is running out and if there is to be a different path found - and there must be a different path found to the one that Theresa May currently has the UK on - there isn't time to lose."

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon

The SNP leader, whose party supports a second EU referendum, said the only thing blocking a parliamentary majority for a fresh vote was the fact that "Labour is not yet behind that".

She said: "If Labour get behind that, I do think there is a prospect of a majority for that. There is perhaps a greater prospect now for a majority for that than for anything else.

"But, in order to put that to the test to get to that point, we need to get Labour off of the fence that it is determinedly sitting on right now and backing a clear way forward.

"A clear way forward is another vote because Theresa May's plan is not going to get a majority, she simply is running down the clock."

The Prime Minister, who is travelling to EU capitals in a bid to secure fresh reassurances on the issue of the Irish border backstop, is also set to come under pressure from her own party.

Steve Baker, the former Brexit minister who is now one of Mrs May’s staunchest critics, urged fellow Tory MPs to put in no-confidence letters to reach the 48-letter mark that would trigger a formal challenge to her leadership.

The European Research Group (ERG) of pro-Brexit MPs, which Mr Baker is deputy chairman of, met on Monday evening and has been calling for MPs to move against the Prime Minister for weeks.

Mr Baker told the BBC: "Of course, we have all taken a bit of a bruising on this and it is a grave decision for every colleague to make.

"But what I would say to my colleagues is: you now face the certainty of failure with Theresa May, you must be brave and make the right decision to change prime minister, and change prime minister now."

The DUP’s Brexit spokesman Sammy Wilson also hit out at the Prime Minister, saying she was heading to Europe with a mindset that will "guarantee she comes back with nothing which is going to alleviate the fears" over the backstop.

Mr Wilson said non-binding assurances "don't mean anything when they are put against a legally-binding international agreement".

He told Today that holding the meaningful vote that was scheduled for Tuesday but abandoned by the government would have strengthened Mrs May's bargaining position, and said the UK should call the EU's bluff by forcing it to choose between a no-deal Brexit or greater flexibility.

"Do they really want to have to run around the capitals of Europe trying to fill up the hole in the budget which a no-deal situation would result in?

"Secondly, they need to have access to our market. Don't forget the EU countries have a 92 billion trade surplus with us so they cannot afford the impact which it may have on their jobs, on their factories, on their industry and their economies.