The Green party has written to the leaders of Labour, the Lib Dems and Plaid Cymru to propose an anti-Brexit alliance to oppose the Conservatives in any snap general election.
The letter argues that centre-left parties clubbing together to avoid challenging each other in certain constituencies is the best way to counter the iniquities of the first-past-the-post electoral system, which allowed the current government to be voted in by 24% of the electorate.
It says: “There is an urgent need to make a stand against any austerity and the slashing of environmental legislation, human and workers’ rights that may come with Brexit.”
The letter, sent to Jeremy Corbyn, Tim Farron and Leanne Wood, is signed by the Greens’ soon-to-depart leader, Natalie Bennett, and the party’s sole MP, Caroline Lucas, as well as the leaders of its Welsh and Northern Irish branches.
“We have a UK government in chaos, an economy facing a crisis and people up and down the country facing serious hardship,” it says. “With the growing likelihood of an early general election, the importance of progressive parties working together to prevent the formation of a Tory-Ukip-DUP government that would seek to enact an ultra-right Brexit scenario is ever more pressing.”
The post-Brexit turmoil “exposes the absurdity of our first-past-the-post electoral system”, the letter argues, adding that a progressive alliance is needed for all parts of the UK other than Scotland, where the SNP’s strong support gives a strong pro-EU voice.
Bennett said such a scheme was “the best possible chance of a progressive outcome from the mess we are currently in”, but should be seen as only a stepping stone to proportional representation.