May tries to find new Brexit deal
THERESA May and senior Cabinet ministers were engaged in intensive discussions with MPs from all sides of the Brexit debate, as the Prime Minister fought to find a deal which could command support in Parliament.
But Jeremy Corbyn and his front bench continued to snub the talks, which the Labour leader dismissed as a “stunt”.
Speaking in the marginal Conservative constituency of Hastings, Mr Corbyn said Labour was “determined to get a deal” and called on Mrs May to ditch her negotiation red lines and rule out a no-deal Brexit.
“The Prime Minister seems completely unable to grasp what has happened,” he said. “She seems to be prepared to send the country hurtling towards a cliff edge.
“To get a deal that can command a majority in Parliament, Theresa May has to ditch the red lines and get serious about proposals for the future.”
Liberal Democrats accused the Labour leader of “playing political games” and said he could no longer rely on their support in future no-confidence votes, after he failed to throw his party behind calls for a second EU referendum.
A new opinion poll showed a 12-point lead for staying in the EU if a fresh vote was held. The YouGov survey for the People’s Vote campaign, conducted after Mrs May’s Brexit plan went down to humiliating defeat in the House of Commons on Tuesday, put Remain on 56% against 44% for Leave.
Mrs May invited MPs and leaders from across the Commons for talks to find a way forward on Brexit after fighting off a no-confidence motion on Wednesday.
But she told the House of Commons she was holding to the “principles” behind the Withdrawal Agreement which was roundly rejected by MPs on Tuesday, including control of borders, laws and money and an independent trade policy.
The EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier indicated that Brussels was ready to respond to any revision of Mrs May’s “red line” demands, telling MPs in Portugal: “If they change, we’ll change.”
Mr Barnier said that getting an agreement was “in everybody’s interest” and that “something has to change” to secure a deal.
Shadow cabinet minister Barry Gardiner said Mrs May was clinging to her red lines because she knew that any compromise on them would “break the Conservative Party” by pushing eurosceptic backbenchers in the European Research Group to desert her.
Mrs May has said that “the door remains open” to Labour for talks ahead of the deadline for her to present her Plan B to MPs on Monday.
Her motion is expected to be amended by MPs seeking parliamentary support for a range of options, from ruling out no-deal to extending the two-year Article 50 process or calling a second referendum.
The Commons will vote on the proposals on January 29, in a full day of debate expected to shed light on what Brexit solutions may be able to command a majority in Parliament.