UK: Labour Party to Force Brexit Deal Vote For Next Week

Britain’s main opposition Labour Party will do all it can to force the government to bring a vote on Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit deal to parliament next week, its election coordinator Andrew Gwynne said Sunday.

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Gwynne, who is Labour’s policy chief for communities and local government, told the BBC’s Andrew Marr show, “We will be using whatever mechanisms we have at our disposal next week to try and force the government to bring forward that deal for a vote before Christmas.”

He did not offer any details on how Labour would try to force the government to bring the vote forward.

May delayed a vote last week on her agreement to leave the European Union because she was set to lose in parliament and has tried to secure “assurances” from the bloc to try to better sell it to skeptical lawmakers. Brussels said last week it was ready to help but warned her that she could not renegotiate the deal.

With May facing a deadlock in parliament over the deal and the EU offering little so far, more politicians are talking about the possibility of Britain leaving without an agreement or a second referendum that could stop Brexit from happening.

Asked if the government was preparing for a vote, Education Minister Damian Hinds told Sky News, “No, a second referendum would be divisive. We’ve had the people’s vote, we’ve had the referendum and now we’ve got to get on with implementing it.”

But the longer it takes, voices urging a change of tack are getting louder and the pressure on the main opposition Labour Party to move against the government is rising.

May survived a no-confidence vote among her conservative lawmakers last week, but opposition parties are calling for Labour to propose a parliamentary motion of no confidence against the government this week.