Ian Blackford the SNP leader has said that MPs must put aside their differences and must move quickly to stop Boris Johnson pushing through a no-deal Brexit.
He warned that ahead of MPs returning to parliament on 3 September the Johnson’s government are “prepared to crash the bus” over Brexit.
Over the weekend Johnson said at the G7 summit in Biarritz France, that the chances of securing a deal with the EU are “touch are and go.”
Blackford said on BBC’s Good Morning Scotland programme on Monday, “We need to reflect on the fact that Boris Johnson has become Prime Minister on the votes of Conservative members of Parliament.
“He doesn’t have a mandate from the voters and at no point has any party, and indeed in the referendum in 2016, was the proposition put forward that we would be leaving the European Union on a no-deal basis.
“He needs to be stopped and I’m appealing to parliamentarians this week to recognise the responsibility collectively that we’ve all got that when we get back to Parliament next week, we have to move fast.
“We are up against a government that are prepared to crash the bus and they must be stopped.”
He said that his party are prepared to work with anyone to prevent a no-deal Brexit.
Blackford said, “We will work with anybody and everybody to stop this and it’s not about who becomes prime minister in the short-term – in many respects we don’t even need to do that.
“What we need to do is stop no-deal and we need to stop the damage that Boris Johnson will do.
“We need to bury our differences and we need to recognise the challenge that we face from someone that’s prepared to take us out of the European Union on a no-deal basis.
“We all need to work together, that’s what the public would expect from us. It’s about protecting the interests of all our constituents from Brexit.”
Jo Swinson the Liberal Democrat leader wrote to Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn to say that his plan to put him self forward as caretaker prime minister could jeopardise MPs efforts to prevent a no-deal Brexit, as he does not have enough support.
However, Blackford said, “It’s not about whether or not Jeremy Corbyn has support, it’s about the responsibilities we have as members of Parliament.
“What we need to do is bring forward legislation and I’m disappointed that Jo is playing games like this.
“All of us have to work together – it’s not about the individual, it’s about making sure that we put in place legislation to stop no-deal.”
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