Labour for polls to sort out Brexit mess

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.

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 PostBrexit UK, authored by Indianorigin 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.

LONDON: