PM May, Oppn leader Corbyn shift positions
LONDON: Prime Minister Theresa May on Tuesday offered MPS two new votes in the House of Commons if her Brexit Plan B is rejected by March 12: on leaving the EU without a deal, and if it is also rejected, on delaying Brexit beyond March 29, reflecting a major shift in her approach.
May has consistently ruled out extending Article 50 beyond March 29.
She was forced into a climbdown in the face resignations by three MPS and the possibility of several ministers quitting unless a no-deal Brexit is ruled out, which she had so far refused to do.
Labour too marked a shift. It has so far pursued a policy of constructive ambiguity on Brexit, but party leader Jeremy Corbyn finally acceded to demands within his party to call for another referendum on the UK’S membership of the EU.
The possibility of a Brexit delay sent the pound soaring to a 21-month high, but business organisations were not too enthusiastic about May’s new plan.
Claire Walker of the British Chambers of Commerce said: “While this a giant political leap for the prime minister, this is only a small step towards the clarity and precision that businesses need to chart their future direction.”
May told MPS: “I do not want to see Article 50 extended. Our absolute focus should be on working to get a deal and leaving on 29 March. An extension beyond the end of June would mean the UK taking part in the European Parliament elections.
What kind of message would that send to the more than 17 million people who voted to leave the EU nearly three years ago now?an extension cannot take no-deal off the table. The only way to do that is to revoke Article 50, which I shall not do, or agree a deal.”
The shift in Corbyn’s position is significant but is also aimed at preventing more MPS resigning and joining the 11-member Independent Group that favours another referendum. After three cabinet ministers broke ranks from the official line on Brexit, three more ministers –Margot James, Richard Harington and Clare Perry–on Tuesday announced in a joint article in the Daily Mail they would quit if May does not rule out a “catastrophic” no-deal Brexit. They called on the government to extend article 50.