British opposition Labor Party supports new elections on Brexit stalemate

LIVERPOOL, England (Reuters) – The Labor Party of the British opposition prefers a new election to a second referendum on Brexit, said Sunday its leader, putting pressure on Prime Minister Theresa May.

Trade unionist Jeremy Corbyn has so far resisted calls for a "popular vote" or new referendum on leaving the EU.

But the political landscape has changed since the European Union on Thursday ambushed the EU against its Brexit plans – Britain's biggest policy change for more than four decades.

Discussions on a new swirling election after May's "Checkers" plan was torn apart at an EU summit in Austria last week and Britain's chances of leaving the bloc

Corbyn, a Eurosceptic veteran who, in 1975, voted "no" to Britain's accession to the European Community as he listened to a possible second vote on Britain's accession preferred a early election if an agreement that the Labor Party could support in parliament.

"We would prefer a general election and then we can negotiate our future relationship with Europe, but see what comes out of the conference," he told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show.

"We would vote against it if it does not meet our criteria in order to send the government back, if it is still in power, directly to the negotiating table and if there is a general election and we are in post, we would get right to the point at the bargaining table.

Corbyn's close ally, Len McCluskey, leader of Britain's largest union Unite, told the BBC that such a second referendum "should not be about: do we want to return to the European Union? Referendum 2016

Britain must leave the EU in March. After weeks of positive talks between the two sides on the prospects for a divorce deal and their future trade relations, the mood worsened on Thursday in Salzburg, Austria, when EU leaders criticized Mayers projects.

An unspoken agreement to give him some support before going to what will be a difficult annual conference of his conservative party later this month was broken by some British diplomatic missteps.

NEW ELECTION?

May said she would remain comfortable in the talks, urging the EU to propose an alternative to its Checkers plan, named in honor of the Prime Minister's residence where an agreement was reached with his senior ministers in July.

But the stalemate with the EU has prompted some to plan an early election, with local media reporting that the May team had begun planning an early vote in November to save both Brexit and its work.

Brexit Minister Dominic Raab again ruled out a new election, calling the suggestion "for birds". He said Britain would "not leave the plan to plan as a kind of diplomatic moth".

"We will be resolved about this," added Raab.

While arguing that she will stick to her weapons, May may have little chance of changing course after a party conference where the deep divisions over Europe that have been tearing her conservatives for decades will be visible.

Nicky Morgan, a pro-EU Conservative legislator, said the government should rely on trade and customs arrangements to overcome the biggest obstacle to a withdrawal agreement – preventing a difficult border between the British province and the United States. Northern Ireland and Ireland. Member of the EU.

"I'm not sure there's still life left in the ladies," Sky News, chairman of the Parliament's Treasury Selection Committee and former government minister, May, Morgan told Sky News.

"We want to see an agreement. The question that I think needs to be addressed by the government, by the European leaders, is this: what room do we have, how can we move from last week?