Britain's opposition Labour to debate second Brexit vote



LONDON (dpa)- Britain's main opposition party, Labour, will debate and vote on a motion Tuesday that could allow it to back a new referendum on the final outcome of Conservative Prime Minster Theresa May's Brexit negotiations.
"If we cannot get a general election, Labour must support all options remaining on the table, including campaigning for a public vote," said a draft motion agreed late Sunday at Labour's annual conference in the city of Liverpool.



Some senior Labour figures, including left-wing leader Jeremy Corbyn, said that any support for a second vote on leaving the European Union would not extend to the option of Britain remaining a member of the bloc.
But other Labour lawmakers insisted that reversing Brexit by staying in the EU must be an option.
"Trying to sell a final Brexit vote without having Remain on the ballot would be like trying to sell a car without a reverse gear," wrote pro-EU Labour lawmaker Chuka Umunna for The Independent online newspaper on Monday.
Umunna said a snap election appeared unlikely.
He noted comments earlier Monday by shadow chancellor John McDonnell, Corbyn's close ally, who said a new Brexit vote should be "a vote on the deal itself" to enable Labour to renegotiate with the EU, but without an option to stay in the EU.
Shadow Brexit secretary Keir Starmer also told reporters at the conference Monday that some 300 Labour members who discussed the issue Sunday "weren't ruling out options, and nobody was ruling out Remain."
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Tuesday, September 25th 2018
dpa
           


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