Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is ready for a people's vote if Labour's proposed Brexit deal is rejected on Februay 27, 2019
Finally, the official leader of the UK parliamentary opposition, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, has come to his senses. According to a BBC news article, later today, February 25, 2019 he will tell Labour MPs that he will support a second referendum aka a people’s vote if Labour’s Brexit deal will be rejected on May 27, 2019.
Previously, Jeremy Corbyn had been rather in favour of a Soft Brexit. For the left-winger, the EU is some sort of a neo-liberal project. Therefore, in the referendum campaign, Labour did not come forward with a united, pro-Remain position.
So far, prime minister Theresa May’s strategy seems to have been to keep the No Deal option on the table while delaying the final Brexit decision to the last minute. She most likely hoped that, put to the wall by the choice between a dangerous No Deal and Her Deal, MPs would rally behind her plan. However, MPs have clearly voted against her deal twice. Brexiters rightly say that May’s Deal is not what they had voted for in the referendum. They forget to add that their “plan” was a fantasy all along. The Remainers rightly point out to the fact that the present deal is the best deal available, that Remain is the best option, much better than May’s Deal.
It remains unclear what Jeremy Corbyn and Labour would exactly ask for in a second referendum.
The second important news of the day: Labour decided to support a cross-party amendment, proposed by Labour’s Yvette Cooper and Tory MP Oliver Letwin, designed to rule out a No-Deal Brexit. This parliamentary vote will take place on February 27, 2019.
Official portrait of Jeremy Corbyn. Photo: Chris McAndrew / UK Parliament.
Article added on May 25, 2017 at 19:37 German time.
