Senior SNP figure hints at UK no-confidence vote next week

LONDON – A senior figure in the Scottish National Party says opposition parties could stage a vote of confidence in the British government next week in hopes of blocking a departure from the European Union without a deal.

The SNP’s former deputy leader Stewart Hosie told the BBC on Saturday a plan to install an interim government whose sole purpose is to secure a Brexit extension might be the best way to make sure Britain does not leave the EU without a deal on Oct. 31. But its prospects are uncertain since all opposition parties would need to agree.

Opposition parties so far have been reluctant to go for a confidence vote, fearing that Prime Minister Boris Johnson could delay a general election until after Oct. 31 — by which time Britain will be out of the EU.