Could MPs form a national unity government to avert a no-deal Brexit? Here’s what history tells us

In the context of divisions within the UK Conservative Party and widespread dislike of the Government's White Paper The future relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union in the summer of 2018, Conservative MP Anna Soubry floated a idea that to some might seem radical: establish some kind of all-party 'national unity government' to avoid a no-deal Brexit.

But what were the prospects for such a project, what form might it take, and what would be the political implications?

• Primary Source

ESO: In Focus: Brexit - The United Kingdom and the European Union http://www.europeansources.info/record/brexit-the-united-kingdom-and-the-european-union/

The Guardian, 18.07.18: [Opinion]: A national unity government? A second referendum is more likely https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jul/18/national-unity-government-second-referendum-no-deal-brexit

Conservative Home, 19.07.18: Henry Hill: Soubry calls for government of ‘national unity’… with the separatists https://www.conservativehome.com/thecolumnists/2018/07/henry-hill-soubry-calls-for-government-of-national-unity-with-the-separatists.html

Politics Home, 18.07.18: Tory MPs call for 'government of national unity' to deliver Brexit amid Commons impasse https://www.politicshome.com/news/uk/political-parties/conservative-party/theresa-may/news/96946/tory-mps-call-government

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