Option of second referendum remains open, says Corbyn

Option of second referendum remains open, says Corbyn

by Joseph Anthony
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Labour could still back a second Brexit referendum, Jeremy Corbyn said as he urged Theresa May to accept his demands for a deal.


The Labour leader said the option of a public vote remained on the table โ€“ in line with the policy agreed following marathon negotiations at his partyโ€™s conference in 2018.

Mr Corbyn had faced a backlash from pro-EU Labour MPs after setting out his conditions for accepting a Brexit deal in a letter to the Prime Minister.

But Mr Corbyn said the partyโ€™s policy remained as set out following the party conference โ€“ to call for a general election if Mrs May cannot get a deal through Parliament and then to keep all options open.

In a speech in Coventry, Mr Corbyn accused Mrs May of an โ€œutterly cynicalโ€ and โ€œrecklessโ€ attempt to run down the clock before the UKโ€™s exit from the European Union on March 29.

He said Labourโ€™s plan โ€œcould win the support of Parliament and bring the country togetherโ€ but Mrs May has so far โ€œchosen the path of divisionโ€.


โ€œIf she is unable to adopt a sensible deal because it would split the Tories, then the answer is quite simple: there must be a general election,โ€ Mr Corbyn said.

The Prime Minister survived a confidence motion in her government tabled by Mr Corbyn, which could have led to an election, after her Brexit deal was overwhelmingly rejected by MPs in January.

Mr Corbyn said that without an election โ€œwe will keep all options on the table โ€“ as agreed in our conference motion -including the option of a public voteโ€.

He said: โ€œThe country cannot be taken over the cliff edge for the sake of Tory party unity.โ€


The Labour leader said Mrs May must drop her โ€œdamaging red linesโ€ on Brexit and insisted his plan โ€œcan break the impasseโ€ in Parliament.

In his letter to Mrs May, the Labour leader set out five demands:

โ€“ A permanent customs union to deliver frictionless trade and help avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland

โ€“ Close alignment with the single market, including shared institutions and obligations

โ€“ Alignment on rights and protections so that UK standards keep pace with those across Europe as a minimum

โ€“ Participation in EU agencies and funding programmes

โ€“ Unambiguous agreements on the detail of future security arrangements, including access to the European Arrest Warrant and vital shared databases.

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