Thread by @edwinhayward

The problem is the VONC chicken and egg:

1. Corbyn has to call it.

2. Corbyn won't call it unless he's sure it will succeed ("when the time is right").

3. But Corbyn insists he must be PM. Not enough MPs will back that idea for VONC to succeed.

4. So it will never get called.

5. But that means the attempt to form a GNU will also not happen.

6. So we get a no deal Brexit. Hello darkness, my old friend...

If Corbyn changes the situation in step 3 by taking a pragmatic approach, all the rest could be different too. And we could have a happy outcome.

Under the current system the LOTO has to be the one to call a VONC. Nobody is disputing LOTO's Corbyn. He is super key to VONC!

But he won't call VONC if he can't win it & he can't win it if precondition is he'll be made PM. So he won't call it at all unless he changes his tune.

- Since a GNU can only be formed after a VONC
- VONC can only be called by Corbyn
- Corbyn will only call VONC if he can win it
- Not enough MPs will back VONC if that means pledging to make Corbyn PM
then only Corbyn can unblock the situation!

Until he does, he's the problem.

(Just to be clear: any MP can call a VONC. But parliamentary convention - for what it's worth - is that *only* the LOTO's VONC *must* be debated. So in practice Boris Johnson can and almost certainly will ignore anyone else's VONC, without breaking precedent.)