Deputy leader says Labour must join Brexit talks

The deputy leader of Britain’s opposition Labour Party says it has an obligation to join talks with Prime Minister Theresa May if she is ready to hold an “intelligent conversation” about Brexit.

Tom Watson said that the party is obligated to take part out of respect for the democratic process.

Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn has refused to join the crisis talks, which are aimed at building a consensus in Parliament. Corbyn insists Labour will not take part unless May first rules out a “no-deal” Brexit, which she says she doesn’t have the power to do.

Corbyn is the only party leader who has refused to participate in the talks, which thus far have not produced a breakthrough in the parliamentary situation. May’s Brexit withdrawal plan was soundly crushed in a vote last week.

Sir Keir Starmer, the shadow Brexit secretary, attempted to push the party closer to a second referendum, as he also urged May to take no deal “off the table”.

It has emerged that Dominic Grieve, a former minister planning to prevent a no-deal Brexit, has drawn up proposals for 300 MPs to be able to seize control of the Commons agenda.

Grieve, who advocates a second referendum, is planning an amendment to a motion May will put down in the Commons as she outlines how she will attempt to break the impasse in Parliament after her deal was blocked. She will hold a conference call with her Cabinet ahead of the statement.

Nick Boles, another former Tory minister, and Yvette Cooper, a senior Labour MP, are planning similar moves to allow MPs to require an extension of the country’s EU membership if a deal is not signed off by Parliament. Labour sources indicated that the party could support the move and would also consider Grieve’s plan.

Labour is also plotting an attempt to block further debate on the Government’s Trade Bill, due to be discussed in the Lords, until ministers outline more detail on its regime for striking trade deals after Brexit.

Senior ministers warned that Grieve’s plan, if approved by MPs, would trigger a constitutional crisis and probably a general election.

Grieve claimed he was simply providing the Government with “a way to break the logjam”.

He said accepted alternative arguments that a majority of MPs — or as few as 100 — should be required to trigger the mechanism he had designed.

Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, Liam Fox, the International Trade Secretary, warns that failing to deliver on the 2016 referendum would open up a “yawning gap” between voters and Parliament.

He also attacks MPs and ministers attempting to remove the no-deal option entirely, saying that the “most stupid thing possible” in a negotiation is to “give away your strongest card”.