Will the Brexit crisis push us towards a government of national unity?

It is the idea that briefly seemed to unite leading voices on both sides of the political divide – a government of national unity to end the never-ending turmoil that is Brexit.

First Nicky Morgan, the pro-EU Conservative MP, put Theresa May on notice that a national government would be needed if she refused to adopt any alternative exit plan agreed by parliament.

Then former prime minister Sir John Major took up the theme, arguing for “a cross-party government so that we can take decisions without the chaos that we’re seeing” – perhaps after an autumn general election.

Such calls are much rarer on the Labour side, but what’s this? Tom Watson, the deputy leader, agreeing “if needs must, we have to then do what’s right”, when asked at the weekend about the warring parties agreeing a truce.

So, what is the history of governments of national unity in this country and is the Brexit fiasco driving us towards another one?

The key point is that they are rare, because – as you may have noticed since the Leave vote – the parties prefer shouting across the Commons to cooperating across it.

The last national government was led by Winston Churchill during the Second World War, following similar coalitions during the First World War and during the Great Depression of the 1930s.

The obvious similarity is that all were times of huge crisis – but, just as significantly, there was an acceptance in all the parties that only cross-party working could provide a solution. Fast-forward to 2019 and there is no such recognition.

The prime minister would rather chew off her own arm than take up solutions from Labour or other parties, despite seeing her deal repeatedly rejected by huge numbers.

Similarly, Jeremy Corbyn wants to use the crisis to trigger a general election that would put him in No 10 on a mission to end austerity, showing by and large a remarkable lack of interest in the details of Brexit.

Meanwhile, the Commons is holding “indicative votes“ to try to find a common purpose, but has been unable to narrow down the options because MPs cannot agree on how to combine their favoured ones.

The lesson is that it requires a consensus to form a government of national unity – and in the absence of such a consensus, the idea is a non-starter.

Which is why there will be not be one to solve Brexit.

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