Labour for polls to sort out Brexit mess
LONDON: The opposition Labour on Monday injected some clarity on its hitherto ambiguous stand on Brexit by calling for a general election to sort out the seemingly intractable situation arising from talks between the Theresa May government and Brussels.
Labour’s annual party conference in Liverpool has been overshadowed by Brexit in the context of last week’s unsavoury exchanges between May and EU leaders after a meeting in Salzburg. The vast majority of Labour members are said to be in favour of remaining in the EU.
Shadow chancellor John McDonnell called for the midterm election if parliament votes against the final withdrawal deal that the May government will put before parliament. The countdown has begun for UK to leave in the EU on March 29, 2019.
Labour also finalised a draft of a motion that will be put to the vote on Tuesday. It reads: “If we cannot get a general election, Labour must support all options remaining on the table, including campaigning for a public vote.”
Options include another referendum on EU membership.
The wording is also interpreted as including the option to remain in the EU, which the Labour leadership is so far wary of confirming, since many Labour MPs have voters in their constituencies who voted in favour of Brexit.
McDonnell said: “I just say to the Tories, in the interests of our country get out of the way and let us get on with securing a way forward. A way forward that will protect our economy, our jobs and standards of living for our people.”
The last mid-term election was held in June 2017.
Monday also saw the release of a document endorsed by former Brexit secretary David Davis and other pro-Brexiteers called Plan A+: Creating A Prosperous Post-Brexit UK, authored by Indian-origin Shanker A Singham and Rodomir Tylecote of the Institute for Economic Affairs.
The document includes details of a possible free trade agreement with India. David and others urged May to abandon her Brexit plan and adopt the ideas put forth. Former foreign secretary Boris Johnson also endorsed the document.
“This is a plan the EU would understand and respect – delivering prosperity for the UK and our European partners. I’ve no doubt it would unite MPs and the country,” Johnson said.