ZCZC
BFF-43
BRITAIN-EU-BREXIT-POLITICS-REFERENDUM
Renewed hopes for new Brexit vote amid draft deal backlash
LONDON, Nov 15, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Britons wanting a second referendum on EU
membership were newly optimistic Thursday as Prime Minister Theresa May
admitted rejection of her floundering draft withdrawal deal could mean “no
Brexit”.
Backers of a so-called “People’s Vote” were buoyed after her tentative
agreement with the European Union faced a furious backlash from members of
her own ruling Conservatives.
May appeared to have won her cabinet’s approval for the deal during a
five-hour meeting Wednesday, but then saw several ministers quit in protest
over its terms the following morning.
In a severe blow, Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab was among those to resign.
Amid the turmoil, and while continuing to insist Britain would still leave
the bloc next year “whatever happens”, May conceded Brexit could still be
averted.
“The choice is clear… we can risk no Brexit at all,” she told lawmakers
in parliament Thursday, a rare admission from May that echoed similar
comments she gave the previous evening.
The prime minister repeatedly reiterated that she remained determined to
deliver on the 2016 referendum, but political opposition to her plan is
unifying — and for some, around another poll.
“A people’s vote on the final Brexit deal, where they can choose to remain
in the EU, is the only route out of this uncertainty,” said opposition
Liberal Democrats leader Vince Cable.
He warned May, in a lively House of Commons debate, that lawmakers may
instruct her to call another referendum — though it is unclear how a second
vote could occur without the prime minister’s approval.
However, with speculation of a Tory leadership challenge rife, and the
spectre of a snap general election looming large, proponents of a people’s
vote appear emboldened.
“No deal versus no Brexit looking likeliest because her deal is a dead
parrot,” former Labour government spokesman and anti-Brexit campaigner
Alastair Campbell, wrote on Twitter.
“It has to go back to the people.”
– ‘the benefit of hindsight’ –
Britons backed leaving the EU after four decades of membership by 52
percent in the 2016 referendum.
But during nearly two years of fractious negotiations with the bloc, the
campaign for another vote has surged, uniting pro-European politicians,
activists and a variety of famous Britons.
“Back then we didn’t really know what it would entail, the ramifications
of leaving the European Union,” former footballer and television personality
Gary Lineker told a second referendum rally in Westminster on Tuesday.
“It’s very rare in life that you get to use the benefit of hindsight,” he
added.
Jo Johnson MP, the pro-European brother of former foreign secretary and
Brexit cheerleader Boris Johnson, appeared on stage with Lineker after
quitting May’s government last week over her plan and calling for another
referendum.
“What we’ve learned over the last 24 months or so is that we’re never
going to get a Brexit that matches in any way the fantastical promises,” Jo
Johnson said.
He joined a host of other Conservatives who have now broken party ranks to
back another vote.
Meanwhile, the main Labour opposition has said it is keeping all options
on the table as many of its MPs call for the referendum.
Several recent opinions polls have shown majority support among people for
another vote, as well as for staying in the EU.
Meanwhile British bookmakers shortened the odds on a second referendum.
But political experts appear more circumspect.
“I just don’t see it happening,” said Henry Newman, director of the non-
partisan Open Europe think-tank.
“I can’t see any Conservative prime minister agreeing to it,” he added,
noting backbench Tories are steadfastly opposed to another vote.
Steven Peers, a law professor at the University of Essex, said it would be
hard to arrange quickly and may still lack broad enough political support.
“A second referendum is not possible unless the Labour party supports it,
and even then it might not have enough votes in the House of Commons,” he
said.
BSS/AFP/RY/20:02 hrs