JEREMY Corbyn and Ian Blackford spoke this morning about how to bring down the Conservative Government to stop a "disastrous no-deal Brexit".

The phonecall between the Labour and SNP leaders did not touch on the issue of a second independence referendum but was solely about how opposition parties could work together to prevent Boris Johnson taking Britain out of the EU without a deal on October 31.

It follows the Labour leader’s letter to opposition party leaders this week, in which he proposed they collaborate to try to bring about a successful no-confidence vote in the UK Government. This would then lead to a “strictly time-limited” caretaker administration, led by Mr Corbyn, which would seek a further delay to Brexit to enable a snap general election to take place.

READ MORE: Jeremy Corbyn accused of 'surrendering' on indyref2

The Herald:

The Herald was told the conversation between the two party leaders was positive. A cross-party meeting is now being arranged to discuss the way forward and is expected to take place at Westminster before the end of the month, probably in the final week of August before MPs return next month from their summer break.

An SNP spokesman said: "This morning, Ian Blackford held a constructive conversation with Jeremy Corbyn to discuss ways in which opposition parties can work together in removing the growing threat of a disastrous no-deal Brexit.

"The SNP’s Westminster leader reiterated that he is happy to meet with Jeremy Corbyn and other opposition parties to collectively stop the Tory Prime Minister from dragging us out of the European Union without a deal, which we know will be catastrophic for jobs and people’s livelihoods.
 
“The SNP has consistently worked across party lines to prevent the threat posed by Brexit, and we will continue to work with others in preventing the greatest act of self-harm to our economy,” he added.

As Jo Swinson comes under pressure to reverse her opposition to the Labour leader heading an emergency unity government, Liberal Democrat sources suggested the party was not in principle opposed to his leadership but believed that, in practical terms, he would be unable to command a Commons majority to win a no-confidence vote.

Hence, the Lib Dem leader is arguing for the likes of veterans Ken Clarke or Harriet Harman to take over the role; something Ms Swinson insists they are willing to do. Neither the former Chancellor nor the former Labour deputy leader has broken cover yet to confirm this.

The East Dunbartonshire MP has made clear that while she believes Mr Corbyn is too divisive a figure to lead a unity government, she is keen to meet him to discuss the way forward.

The Labour leader this morning made clear it was "not up to Jo Swinson to choose candidates…to decide who the next prime minister is going to be" following her rejection of his caretaker government plan.

READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon: Jo Swinson daft for rejecting Corbyn PM bid

He added: "Surely she must recognise she is a leader of one of the opposition parties who are apparently opposed to this Government and apparently prepared to support a motion of no-confidence. I look forward to joining her in the lobbies to vote this Government down."

Earlier, the Lib Dem leader again insisted Mr Clarke and Ms Harman would be willing to lead a unity government to stop a no-deal outcome if asked by Parliament to do so.

"I have been in touch with them because obviously you don't just mention people's names without checking that they're OK with that,” she told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

"They put public duty first and they don't want to see a no-deal Brexit and if the House of Commons asks them to lead an emergency government to get our country out of this Brexit mess and to stop us driving off that cliff to a no deal, then yes, they are prepared to do that and I think that is to their credit," declared Ms Swinson.

But Kwasi Kwarteng, the Energy Minister, said he thought it would be "an odd thing" for Mr Clarke, whom he admired, to take the helm at the age of 79.

The Surrey MP said: "I'm 44 years old. He was an MP before I was born. He's been around for a long time. It would be an odd thing for him to lead a unity government, you know. I think he's nearly 80."

Ms Swinson has come under increasing pressure from other opposition leaders, including SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon, to rethink her dismissal of Mr Corbyn's plan. The First Minister described her fellow Scot’s outright rejection of the Labour leader’s proposal as “daft”.

The Lib Dem leader has since written to Mr Corbyn to suggest they meet "in the coming days" to work on a no-deal prevention plan.

READ MORE: Experts warn Brexit labour shortage may be exploited by traffickers

Senior Remain-supporting Tories Dominic Grieve, Dame Caroline Spelman and Sir Oliver Letwin, as well as independent MP Nick Boles, have also agreed to meet Mr Corbyn.

But Dame Caroline and the Independent Group for Change led by Anna Soubry have ruled out support for any Corbyn government.

Meanwhile, Chancellor Sajid Javid is set to become the first senior member of Mr Johnson's Government to meet with an EU leader to discuss Brexit, during a trip to Berlin today to see German finance minister Olaf Scholz.

Despite the deadline looming, the Prime Minister has refused to meet the bloc's leaders for discussions on a new deal unless they agree to scrap the Irish backstop.

Elsewhere, leaked German government papers revealed Berlin now expected Britain to leave on no-deal terms on October 31.

The document was revealed by the German business daily newspaper Handelsblatt and called on the EU27 states to unite against any renegotiation. It stated that EU preparations for a no-deal were now “largely completed”.