Former Prime Minister Tony Blair is demanding a second vote to reverse Brexit, as the Labour Party moves to block the possibility of walking away from the European Union (EU) with ‘no deal’.
Former party leader and erstwhile British Prime Minister Tony Blair will continue his push to block Brexit, demanding Parliament stop what he labelled a “fudge” on Britain’s deal with the bloc after Brexit.
His office said in a statement: “As time goes on, it will become crystal clear that the government’s original negotiating position was built on sand.
“They will realise that they are in mortal danger of putting a proposition to parliament which will not pass… so the government will turn to fudge…
“It is this strategy that Parliament has a duty to foil. It has demanded a meaningful vote.
“The vote is only meaningful if it is on a proposition which allows us to know with precision what our future path looks like before we take it.”
2/3 of Labour MPs represent leave seats. If you read this article you could be forgiven for thinking the journalist has never heard of something called democracy. Leave won. #Brexit is happening. Time to be positive. https://t.co/AwPFNykHLt
— Nadine Dorries (@NadineDorries) March 25, 2018
Labour’s Brexit Shadow Secretary of State for Exiting the EU Keir Starmer will add on Monday: “If Parliament rejects the Prime Minister’s deal, that cannot give licence to her, or the extreme Brexiteers in her party, to allow the UK to crash out without an agreement.”
In the speech to be given in Birmingham, previewed by Reuters, he will explain how his party aims to amend legislation so the government’s hands are tied with no option to walk away from the bloc if they offer the UK a bad trade deal.
Labour rejects the notion that if we vote against the PM’s Article 50 deal, then ‘no deal’ follows. That is not a ‘meaningful’ vote. If the deal is voted down, Parliament must decide what happens next. We need options on the table. https://t.co/t5IhhCkfFh
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) March 25, 2018
“Our amendment would make it clear that, should the Prime Minister’s deal be defeated, it must be for Parliament to say what happens next, not the executive,” Sir Keir will say.
Trade Union boss Len McCluskey has already said he wants Labour MPs to vote against a Brexit deal to bring down the government, and over the weekend, Labour Deputy Leader Tom Watson said members of the Labour front bench are “open” to a second referendum.
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