Corbyn backs second Brexit referendum

LONDON, Feb 26 (Al Jazeera): Opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn said on Monday the Labour Party is ready to back calls for a second Brexit referendum to "prevent a damaging Tory Brexit being forced on the country".

This marks a shift in Labour's Brexit stance, which has been ambiguous in its support for a second referendum for fear of alienating the minority of Labour constituencies that voted to leave, particularly in the north of England.

The move was welcomed by some MPs who want Britain to remain in the European Union. It will also be seen as good news by Labour supporters who have been campaigning for a "people's vote" while growing disillusioned with what they see as the party's feeble handling of Brexit.

Nearly 52 per cent of Britons voted to leave the EU in the 2016 referendum.

The Labour leader said the party would "put forward or back" an amendment supporting a people's vote should parliament fail to pass Labour's alternative plan, which will be put to a vote in the House of Commons this week. The plan is likely to be defeated.

Corbyn is trying to hold his party together.

Nine Labour MPs have defected over the party's Brexit policy as well as alleged anti-Semitism. Eight joined a newly-formed Independent Group comprising both Labour and Conservative MPs.

The group, which is opposed to leaving the EU without a deal and backs a second referendum, met for the first time on Monday.

Corbyn's move came as Prime Minister Theresa May announced yet another deferral on a "meaningful vote" on her Brexit deal. It was due for this week and is now scheduled to take place by March 12 - just two weeks before the UK is due to leave the EU.

To stem a rebellion within her party, May is also likely to promise MPs who are eager to rule out a no deal that they will have the chance to vote for a two-month extension of Article 50 in a fortnight, should she fail to reach a deal by then.

Meanwhile, the EU, which has been firm in its refusal to renegotiate the withdrawal agreement, signalled it is also eager to avoid a no deal, with European Council President Donald Tusk saying on Monday that "an extension would be a rational solution" in light of the current situation.

Labour MP Ben Bradshaw warned last week that the trickle of defecting MPs could "become a flood" if Corbyn failed to deliver on the party's conference policy for a second Brexit referendum.

At the party's annual conference last autumn, Labour agreed to campaign for a people's vote should it fail to secure a general election.

But Corbyn lost his bid to remove May from power after the prime minister won a no-confidence vote, just a day after a resounding defeat on her Brexit deal in January.

As the prime minister headed back to Brussels with a parliamentary mandate to renegotiate the agreement, Corbyn put forward Labour's five demands for Brexit.