Labor now backs new Brexit vote

LONDON — Britain’s main opposition Labor Party said Tuesday that the country’s soontobechosen new leader should hold a second referendum on whether to leave the European Union or remain in the bloc, as the two contenders for the job prepared to face a grilling in a TV debate over their plans to break Britain’s Brexit gridlock.

In a significant shift, Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn said the party would campaign to stay in the EU if a referendum were called by whoever succeeds Prime Minister Theresa May. She announced her resignation last month after failing to get Parliament to back her divorce deal with the EU.

Lawmakers Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt are competing to replace May as Conservative Party leader and prime minister. The winner of the contest is due to take office later this month and will have barely more than three months to win support for a Brexit deal before Britain’s scheduled Oct. 31 departure date.

In a letter to party members, Corbyn said that the new prime minister “should have the confidence to put their deal, or nodeal, back to the people in a public vote.”

“In those circumstances, I want to make it clear that Labor would campaign for Remain against either nodeal or a Tory deal that does not protect the economy and jobs,” he said.

Labor’s opponents — and many supporters — have accused the party of dithering over Brexit for fear of alienating voters on either side of the national divide over Europe. Corbyn, a longtime critic of the EU, has resisted calls for a second referendum, saying Labor must respect voters’ 2016 decision to leave.