We need a last-gasp weapon against this reckless Brexiteer government – prepare to revoke Article 50

When faced with the hard reality of who and what we are up against, it is not enough to tinker around the edges. We must have the power to revoke Article 50

This week’s victory in the House of Commons is a significant first step in stopping a no-deal Brexit. No deal has no mandate from the people and no mandate from parliament. No one voted for fewer jobs, lower wages and food shortages – no deal is simply not an option.

When passed, this bill will be the first crucial step in protecting the UK from those horrors on 31 October. But it cannot be the last.

After all, for perfectly valid reasons the extension bill does nothing but ensure the people of the UK aren’t subjected to the body-bag-stockpiling horrors of crashing out on that date. It does not offer a solution, mainly because there is still no majority in the House of Commons.

Plaid Cymru’s priority remains a fresh referendum to stop this Brexit chaos in its tracks. A referendum is the best and most decisive way of putting the issue to bed once and for all.

That is precisely why we voted against the prime minister’s dissolution motion yesterday. A general election right now does not solve the crisis facing the four nations of the UK.

According to recent polling, an election would succeed in nothing but producing another Conservative minority government, this time with a mandate for crashing out of Europe. A newly buoyed Conservative minority government will think nothing of issuing a one-line bill to reverse ours and cancel the extension.

For those reasons, Plaid Cymru MPs will not even consider voting for a general election until an extension is fully implemented. That means not only should the legislation be on the statute book, but the extension should be secured and agreed. Even with the extension in place, our priority is still to hold a fresh referendum over an election – the only real solution to end this Brexit chaos.

Understandably, the temptation to bring down Boris might prove too strong for some on the opposition benches. That is why the Remain and anti-no-deal side must have an ace up its sleeve if a general election is called and, under those circumstances, we must be prepared to revoke Article 50.

When faced with the hard reality of who and what we are up against, it is not enough to tinker around the edges. There is no point throwing the rulebook at those in power because they are content to make the rules up as they go along. They are not operating within the confines of parliamentary procedure as we know it and they have no tolerance for the rules of fair play.

As the courts have ruled, the UK can revoke its intention to withdraw from the EU unilaterally. It is an emergency cord we are perfectly within our right to pull. When Johnson and his advisers try every trick in the book to realise their ambition of leaving the European Union on 31 October, revoking Article 50 might be the only hope we have of stopping a catastrophic Brexit.

The prime minister may think he can silence Westminster, but he has not got his hands on our Senedd in Cardiff. He cannot silence my colleagues there and, when our Welsh Parliament is recalled today, Plaid Cymru will be making the case loud and clear for Revoke to be the Brexit safety net our nation needs.