Time ticking down for Britain to come to Brexit compromise

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s government held out the possibility of compromise with the opposition Labour Party on Sunday to try to win support in parliament for leaving the European Union with a deal, just days before the latest Brexit date.

Prime Minister Theresa May, weaker than ever after her Brexit deal was rejected by parliament three times, has been forced to turn to Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn after giving up on winning over euroskeptics in her Conservative Party, whose opposition has hardened.

With Britain’s departure now set for April 12, May’s government is running out of time to get a deal through a divided parliament. They must come up with a new plan to secure another delay from EU leaders at a summit on Wednesday.

Britain’s biggest shift in foreign and trade policy in more than 40 years is mired in uncertainty, with ministers saying Brexit may never happen, businesses worried the country could leave without a deal, and others just wanting to reverse it.

In a last-ditch bid to get her deal through parliament, May opened talks with Corbyn last week to try to strike a deal on Britain’s future ties with the EU in exchange for his support for her divorce deal, the Withdrawal Agreement.

So far those talks have failed to yield any kind of accord, with Labour policy chiefs saying the government has yet to move from its “red lines,” above all over a customs union, which sets tariffs for goods imported into the EU.

“Specifically provided we are leaving the European Union then it is important that we compromise, that’s what this is about and it is through gritted teeth,” said Andrea Leadsom, the Brexit-supporting leader of the House of Commons (lower house of parliament).