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UK’s Corbyn suggests will stay neutral if new Brexit vote
LONDON, Sept 18, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of Britain’s
main opposition Labour party, suggested Wednesday he would remain neutral if
there was a second referendum on Brexit.
Labour has promised that if it wins the next election, it will seek a new
exit deal with the European Union and put that and the option to stay in the
bloc to a referendum.
“Only a Labour government would end the Brexit crisis by taking the
decision back to the people,” Corbyn wrote in an article in The Guardian.
“We will give the people the final say on Brexit, with the choice of a
credible leave offer and remain.”
He added: “I will pledge to carry out whatever the people decide, as a
Labour prime minister.”
Labour has been accused of a confused position over Brexit as it seeks a
middle way to avoid alienating voters on either side of the 2016 referendum.
However, as the governing Conservatives toughen their position under Prime
Minister Boris Johnson, pressure is growing for Labour to campaign actively
to stay in the EU.
The issue is likely to spark intense debate at Labour’s party conference
starting this weekend.
Johnson insists Britain must leave the EU on October 31, with or without a
deal with Brussels — although he is constrained by a law blocking “no deal”
next month.
Meanwhile, the smaller Liberal Democrats agreed at their annual conference
last weekend to reverse Brexit if they ever won a majority in the House of
Commons.
“We are the only UK-wide party ready to put our trust in the people of
Britain to make the decision,” Corbyn wrote.
Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, the leader of the Scottish
National Party (SNP), tweeted: “Staying neutral on Brexit is a shameful
abdication of leadership.”
BSS/AFP/FI/ 1512 hrs