Yvette Cooper MP joins cross-party group calling for emergency debate on no deal Brexit

Yvette Cooper MP is among a cross-party group of MPs who have called for an emergency debate on Brexit.
Yvette Cooper MP is among a cross-party group of MPs who have called for an emergency debate on Brexit.Yvette Cooper MP is among a cross-party group of MPs who have called for an emergency debate on Brexit.
Yvette Cooper MP is among a cross-party group of MPs who have called for an emergency debate on Brexit.

In a motion submitted this morning, more than a dozen MPs, including Labour's Yvette Cooper, MP for Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford, the Green Party's Caroline Lucas and Dominic Grieve, a Conservative politician, have called on the House of Commons to ensure that the UK does not leave the EU without a Withdrawal Agreement in place.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has vowed to leave the EU on October 31, with or without a deal.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

His decision to suspend parliament (officially known as proroguing) next week has been criticised by the opposition, though Conservative ministers have said it would still allow time for Brexit to be debated.

Yvette Cooper MP is among a cross-party group of MPs who have called for an emergency debate on Brexit.Yvette Cooper MP is among a cross-party group of MPs who have called for an emergency debate on Brexit.
Yvette Cooper MP is among a cross-party group of MPs who have called for an emergency debate on Brexit.

The legislation has been put forward under Standing Order 24, which allows urgent debates to be heard.

The order asks that the House of Commons "take all necessary steps to ensure that the United Kingdom does not leave the European Union on 31 October 2019 without a withdrawal agreement".

This means that Brexit may be delayed beyond October if the government fails to secure a deal in time.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

If approved by the Speaker, the debate will take precedence over business which was scheduled to take place today.

It is believed that Mr Johnson will request an election on October 14 if MPs back the order.

Yvette Cooper MP said: "Local manufacturers, including people who voted strongly to leave, have told me that no deal tariffs are going to hit local jobs hard. One described it as “manufacturing suicide.”

"Boris Johnson needs to get his act together and sort out a deal that supports manufacturing - something I’ve called for and voted for. He shouldn’t be putting local jobs and food prices at risk with no deal.”

Speaking earlier this week, Ms Cooper said that Boris Johnson's decision to prorogue Parliament in the weeks before the UK is scheduled to leave the EU was "completely irresponsible and chaotic".