New PM must call for second Brexit referendum: Corbyn

Opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn on Tuesday said Britain’s next prime minister must put their Brexit plan to a second referendum on European Union (EU) membership, saying his party would campaign to remain.

In an email to members, Corbyn said Labour would campaign to stay in the EU to stop a new Conservative Party leader, who will be chosen later this month, taking Britain out of the bloc without a divorce deal or to stop what he called a “damaging” Brexit.

The move by Corbyn inches the opposition party closer to heeding demands from many Labour members and some lawmakers to unequivocally embrace a second referendum to break the impasse in parliament over how to leave the EU.

But it might not be enough to satisfy all in his party, falling short of campaigning for a second referendum in any circumstance - a position some wanted to adopt to counter a challenge from the pro-EU, smaller Liberal Democrats.

Brexit has brought down Prime Minister Theresa May, who failed three times to get the divorce deal she agreed with the EU ratified by parliament.

Former foreign minister and London mayor Boris Johnson is battling current Foreign Minister Jeremy Hunt to replace her as party leader and prime minister. Johnson, who says he will take Britain out of the EU with or without a deal, is favourite.

“Whoever becomes the new prime minister should have the confidence to put their deal, or no deal, back to the people in a public vote,” Corbyn said.

“In those circumstances, I want to make it clear that Labour would campaign for Remain against either no deal or a Tory (Conservative) deal that does not protect the economy and jobs.”

However, the majority of members of parliament -- including Labour -- are against a “no deal” option, fearing dire economic consequences.

Neither Hunt nor Johnson supports the idea of a second referendum.

If the political deadlock continues, many in Westminster believe a snap election is inevitable.

Labour’s previous policy was to respect the 2016 referendum, but the chaotic process of leaving the EU has emboldened those hoping to stay in.

“As democrats, Labour accepted the result of the 2016 referendum,” Corbyn wrote in an email to party members.

“In our 2017 manifesto, Labour also committed to oppose a No Deal Brexit and the Tories’ Brexit plans,” he added, calling on the incoming prime minister to hold a general election.

What Corbyn did not say in his mail was what his party would campaign for in a parliamentary election - something the veteran socialist renewed his call for by saying: “We need a Labour government to end austerity and rebuild our country for the many not the few.”

Chuka Umunna, a former Labour lawmaker who has joined the Liberal Democrats, said on Twitter: “Yet another fudge, where the Labour leadership keep open the door to standing on a pro-Brexit platform in a general election or supporting it in government.” More than half of British companies with foreign staff fear they would be hurt by the government’s plans for a post-Brexit immigration system, according to a survey published on Tuesday.

Fifty-three per cent of 380 businesses polled by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) and job site Indeed said they would be negatively affected by an expansion of Britain’s existing minimum salary threshold for skilled workers from outside the European Union to include all migrant workers after Brexit.

Fifty-seven per cent said they would be hurt by plans for a 12-month work and residency limit on lower skilled immigrants.

“Businesses in many sectors are finding it increasingly difficult to hire workers with the right skills,” Pawel Adrjan, an economist at Indeed, said.

“Like in any open economy, migration flows are one way to release that pressure valve but as our survey found, new proposals do not appear to flex and breathe depending on employers’ needs,” Adrjan said.

The healthcare and construction sectors in particular needed more flexibility, he said. The BCC said the survey was conducted between April 29 and May 16. More than three years since voting 52 per cent to 48 per cent to leave the EU, Britain’s two main parties, its parliament and cities and towns across the country are still deeply divided over Brexit, opening the way for smaller parties to grab some share of the vote. With Labour struggling in some opinion polls, some in the party want it to adopt a clearer message to tackle the twin challenges from the pro-EU Liberal Democrats and the Brexit Party, led by veteran eurosceptic Nigel Farage.

Agencies