We now have a minority government that has no electoral right to remain in office as it cannot command a majority. At this point the Head of State should be asking for Johnson’s resignation and for other parties to attempt to form a government. That won’t happen today but it is now hard to see how the constitution can be upheld if it doesn’t happen sometime soon.
The main barrier to this is, of course, that it is easier to unite in opposition than it is to form a government. There simply isn’t a majority for a Corbyn government. There may be one for a government of national unity but who could lead that, even as a temporary measure, isn’t clear. Nor is it clear that Labour would back it.
We have, however, moved significantly further in the direction of positive co-operation between MPs across party lines. Corbyn has done very well in the last week. I have criticised the man enough for wallowing in 1970s politics, for his pathetic Brexit campaign and his constant dithering since. Time to give him some praise when it is due. It was a good move to put motions before Parliament that all opposed to No Deal could support instead of obsessing with a motion of no confidence. It was also a sensible and necessary move to reject an immediate election. I want to bring one on quickly but it simply isn’t possible to trust Johnson not to change the date as soon as Parliament is not sitting. The man has shown that he can’t be trusted so why put him in charge of whether an election happens before or after October 31st?
The work that Labour has done in the last week or so has helped establish a degree of cross party trust amongst those who resist a No Deal Brexit. The question now is can that cross party trust be built on. It is clear now that in any election Farage and Johnson are going to be electoral allies and to try and maximise the far right vote. It is far from clear that the more progressive and centrists forces have the ability to do the same.
In any logical world proportional representation or at least single transferable vote would fix that. Voters in each constituency ought to be able to choose for themselves who goes head to head to win the seat after they’ve had the chance to express their first preferences. I now think it is inevitable that such a system will have to come to Britain. There are simply going to be too many smaller rapidly changing parties to sustain a clumsy first past the post system.
Yet PR isn’t going to come in time for the next election. Surely Corbyn must have looked at the polls and understood that he is most unlikely to win an outright victory? Equally clearly the alliance of parties and individuals that have faced down Johnson must have spotted the opportunity for a coalition to win and win big?
The question therefore becomes is Labour capable of going beyond the levels of co-operation it has demonstrated in the last week? Can it ditch its determination to stand in every part of the country and strike some alliances to stand aside in some places where it cannot win in return for support in key marginals? If it can it is almost certain to be the largest party in a Parliament dominated by progressive MPs. There would be a significant increase in Lib Dem MPs, a handful of Green MPs and some excellent SNP, Plaid and Independent MPs. A Parliament with that composition would be good for the Labour Party and good for the country. We’d have a healthy diverse Parliament containing a variety of interesting and capable voices and a chance to deliver some positive policies in a collaborative way. Equally importantly the far right would steadily be pushed back into the margins where it could mutter unheard about how the wonderful easy dream of Brexit got betrayed.
The chances of achieving this are massively reduced if Labour sticks to its policy of telling LibDems and Greens that they must simply stand aside for the true party of the working class. It will be no good Labour coming up to those in other parties at the last minute and asking them for favours unless some have been offered in return. The deals need to be struck now. Representatives from all those opposed to the failed Johnson coup need to get together and work out who leads for them in each constituency where there is a realistic chance of winning by collaborating.
So this to me is now an urgent question that needs tackling with vigour. Can Labour join a genuine Progressive Alliance and help win the next election by being prepared to give a little in order to win a lot? Or will it lack the imagination to seize the opportunity and risk handing Johnson a crushing victory that the country may never recover from.