No rush to topple May's government, says opposition finance chief McDonnell

LONDON: Britain’s opposition Labour Party is in no rush to topple Prime Minister Theresa May’s government over Brexit, the party’s finance policy chief John McDonnell told Reuters on Wednesday.

McDonnell, the man who would become Chancellor if Labour are able to capitalise on a crisis of confidence in May’s leadership and form their own government, said the party wanted to first take a look at what more May can negotiate in Brussels.

“We are not rushing a vote of no confidence by any means,” McDonnell said in an interview following a speech at Reuters Canary Wharf offices. “It may well be said that there are number of iterations of her proposals as the negotiations go on. We will judge it at each stage.”

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After publishing a draft Brexit withdrawal agreement last week May appears to have lost the support of the small Northern Irish party that props up her government and is facing open revolt from within her own Conservative Party.

McDonnell has raised the prospect that, faced with the reality that she can no longer command a majority in parliament, May should step aside without calling an election and give Labour a shot at delivering a different Brexit deal.

Asked whether Labour could be in parliament within a matter of weeks, he said: “Anything could happen at the moment. But, he conceded that it was “difficult to see” Labour taking power without a general election.