Minister suggests ‘People’s Vote’ is still possible
A TREASURY Minister yesterday appeared to suggest that a socalled People’s Vote on the final Brexit was still a possibility.
While Theresa May has made clear she will not countenance another referendum, Mel Stride suggested in a warning to Brexiteers that if they vote down the final Brexit deal they could risk triggering a national vote and the possibility of staying in the EU.
Mr Stride told Sky News: “When we have a firm deal on the table, I suspect that those to the right of the party – the pro-Brexit wing – will be very concerned that if that deal does not prevail, they will end up in the situation where we could have a second referendum or we could end up not leaving the EU altogether, so there is a danger of that happening if Chequers does not prevail.”
It came as Wales’s First Minister said a general election should be called if the Prime Minister’s Brexit deal is rejected by devolved assemblies.
And Carwyn Jones said that rejection of a Brexit deal by the Welsh Assembly or Scottish Parliament could be the trigger which eventually leads to a second referendum.
Wales voted to leave the EU by a margin of 52.5 per cent to 47.5 per cent in the 2016 referendum, though recent polls have suggested a swing towards remain.
Setting out what he believes should happen if Mrs May secures a withdrawal agreement with Brussels, Mr Jones told BBC Wales: “The next step is to see whether a deal can be supported by, for me, parliaments plural: Westminster, Edinburgh and Cardiff.
“If that doesn’t happen, then I don’t see any alternative other than a general election where Brexit would be the main issue.
“If there’s an inconclusive result as a result of that general election, well, how then do you resolve the issue without going back to the very same people who took the decision in the first place? I think at that point you are talking about the potential for a second referendum.”
Labour is expected to come under pressure at its conference, starting on Sunday, to back another referendum.