Britain’s Labour Party backs new Brexit referendum

Britain’s opposition Labour Party will support a new referendum on Brexit after parliament defeated its alternative plan for leaving the European Union, the party’s leader Jeremy Corbyn said.

With 29 days left until the United Kingdom is due to leave the European Union, the leaders of Britain’s two main parties have been forced into making key turns on the divorce in recent days.

"We will back a public vote in order to prevent a damaging Tory Brexit or a disastrous no deal outcome," he said.

Corbyn declared the party would also "continue to push for the other available options" to prevent a no-deal divorce with the European Union.

After months of saying that Britain must leave the EU on time on March 29, May opened up the possibility on Tuesday of a short limited extension to the exit date.

John McDonnell, the second most powerful man in the Labour Party, said the party would put down an amendment calling for a second referendum as soon as May brought a deal back to parliament.

After May’s deal was rejected on Jan. 15 in the biggest parliamentary defeat in modern British history, she is hoping to bring back a tweaked divorce accord for a vote, which could come as early as next week but may not take place until March 12.

If her deal is voted down, May has promised lawmakers will get a chance to vote on whether to leave with no deal the day after and then on March 14 to vote on asking the EU to delay the deadline.

Lawmakers on Wednesday voted 502-20 in support of an amendment proposed by opposition Labour lawmaker Yvette Cooper that spelled out May’s proposed timetable. The government backed the amendment.

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday that the EU would agree to extend the Brexit deadline beyond March 29 only if Britain justified such a request with a clear objective.