The UK Prime Minister has announced plans to seek another Brexit extension – and work with the leader of the opposition to break the impasse.
Theresa May has angered sections of her own party by inviting Jeremy Corbyn to talks on a way forward.
Mrs May has said she will consider changing her government’s plans for the future trading relationship with the EU – if Labour will pledge to back the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement.
“I am taking action to break the logjam,” she said.
“I am offering to sit down with the leader of the opposition and to try and agree a plan that we would both stick to, to ensure that we leave the European Union and that we do so with a deal.”
Britain's Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn poses for the media with the Political Declaration setting out the framework for the future UK-EU relationship, 02-04-2019. Image: Stefan Rousseau/Pool Photo via APBrexit
Mr Corbyn said he will have three demands when he meets with Mrs May later today.
He will call for the protection of the Good Friday Agreement, for the UK to remain in a customs union with the EU and for the protection of consumer and environmental standards and workers' rights.
“We hold in reserve our right to bring a motion of no confidence in the government if it proves it is incapable of commanding a majority in the Commons,” he said. “Time will tell on that.”
“Our priority is to make sure we don't crash out and is to make sure we have a government that does command a majority in the House and does indeed command the majority support across the country.
“At the moment we don't have that.”
UK Prime Minister Theresa May gives a press conference outside Downing Street, in London, 02-04-2019. Image: Jack Taylor/Pool Photo via APPatience
The new plan will have to be submitted to the EU before the summit of leaders on April 10th.
After the announcement last night, the President of the European Council Donald Tusk has called for patience as the UK talks continue.
Even if, after today, we don’t know what the end result will be, let us be patient. #Brexit — Charles Michel (@eucopresident) April 2, 2019
No deal
In Dublin, the Government called on all businesses to speed up preparations for a no-deal Brexit.
The Cabinet met last night to discuss the latest developments and assess Ireland’s readiness for all outcomes.
After the meeting, the Tánaiste Simon Coveney warned that it is impossible to avoid all the economic harm Brexit will cause.
“Any type of Brexit is going to mean change and we cannot offset all of the damage of Brexit, but we can be ready,” he said.
“Businesses who have not obtained their customs number should do so now.
“Each business has to register with Revenue – the government can’t file these applications – so it is incumbent on firms to do it now.”
Brexiteers
Mrs May’s announcement has angered hard-line Brexiteers within the Tory party – with Jacob Rees-Mogg describing it as "deeply unsatisfactory."
Meanwhile, the former UK foreign secretary Boris Johnson warned that Brexit now risks becoming "soft to the point of disintegration."
The DUP hit out at what it called Mrs May’s “lamentable handling” of Brexit negotiations and insisted that she had “failed to deliver a sensible Brexit deal that works for all parts of the UK.”
It accused her of “sub-contracting out the future of Brexit” to someone her party had “demonised for four years” in Jeremy Corbyn.
Unveiling her new plan, Mrs May said: "This is a difficult time for everyone.”
“Passions are running high on all sides of the argument.
“But we can and must find the compromises that will deliver what the British people voted for.
“This is a decisive moment in the story of these islands – and it requires national unity to deliver the national interest.”
Without a breakthrough, the UK will crash out of the EU without a deal on April 12th.
