Brexit Party could gain two Scottish MEPS – poll
● Tories and Labour face wipeout as talks between them end without deal
Labour and the Conservatives face being wiped out in Scotland in next week’s European elections, polling has suggested, as both the main parties pay the price over their stance on Brexit.
On the day that Nigel Farage held a rally in Edinburgh with his party all but guaranteed a major victor y, the bombshell Yougov poll found that his Brexit Party could upend political expectations and claim two MEPS in Scotland.
Across the UK, the Yougov survey saw the Liberal Democrats climb into second place, while t he Tories continue their freefall and could finish
in fifth, behind the Greens. It came as Jeremy Corbyn put an end to six weeks of cross- party talks seeking a compromise Brexit deal, saying the Tories were now too “unstable” to reach an agreement that can break the deadlock.
The Labour leader said he was willing to consider new proposals from the government, but said the talks had “gone as far as they can”.
The government says it will bring forward legislation to implement Brexit at the start of June, whether or not there is a deal with Labour, and Theresa May has promised her backbenchers to set a timetable for her departure after it is voted on. The government will now focus its efforts on tr ying to win over r ebel Tories and the DUP, while hoping that Labour MPS can be persuaded to back the Withdrawal Agreement Bill based on the common ground established during the talks on areas including workers’ rights and environmental protections.
There were recriminations over who was to blame for the collapse of the talks, with the Prime Minister claiming Labour’s divisions over the issue of a second referendum made a deal impossible.
Allies of Mrs May pointed the finger at shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer, a key player in the negotiations, who has suggested that a deal would be unlikely to get through the Commons without a referendum attached.
Speaking at a campaign event in Bristol held behind closed doors, Mrs May said: “There have been areas where we have been able to find common ground, but other issues have proved to be more difficult – and in particular we have not been able to overcome the fact there isn’t a common position in Labour about whether they want to deliver Brexit or hold a second referendum which could reverse it.”
In a letter to the Prime Minister yesterday, Mr Corbyn said: “The increasing weakness and instability of your government means there cannot be confidence in securing whatever might be agreed between us.”
Mr Corbyn said there was “growing concern” on t he Labour benches “about the government’s ability to deliver on any compromise agreement”.
The Labour leader said: “As you have been setting out your decision to stand down and Cabinet ministers are competing to succeed you, the position of the government has become ever more unstable and its authority eroded.
“Not infrequently, proposals by your negotiating team have been publicly contradicted by statements from other members of the Cabinet.
“In recent days we have heard senior Cabinet ministers reject any form of customs union, regardless of proposals made by government negotiators.”
A leaked memo from the Labour- Tory discussions suggested a series of indicative votes on a customs union relationship between the UK and EU could take place next week, however Labour sources said the party had not signed up to the plan. The failure to reach agreement was met with despair from business leaders, with the CBI calling on MPS to cancel the recess planned for the end of May.
CBI director- general Carolyn Fairbairn said: “Another day of failed politics, another dispiriting day for British business. Six wasted weeks while uncertainty paralyses our economy.”
The stakes for both parties were made clear by Yougov’s latest poll. Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party is on course to secure more than a third of the vote, and is now within striking distance of winning two MEPS in Scotland, potentially squeezing out Labour and the Conservatives.
Across the UK, the Yougov poll puts the Brexit Party on 35 per cent, the Lib Dems on 16 per cent, Labour on 15 per cent, the Greens on 10 per cent and the Tories on 9 per cent.
Only 35 per cent of Labour voters at the general election, and just 20 per cent of Conservative voters in 2017, told pollsters they intend to vote for those parties again next week.