Britain's main opposition Labour party has proposed MPs be allowed to vote on a second referendum as part of a series of options to stop a "no deal" Brexit.

A parliamentary amendment tabled late on Monday would require ministers to allow time in the House of Commons to discuss ways to prevent Britain leaving the EU in March with no deal.

These options include renegotiating Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit withdrawal agreement to include a new UK-EU customs union and a "strong relationship" with the EU's single market.

They also should include "legislating to hold a public vote on a deal or a proposition" that has the support of a majority of MPs.

MPs roundly rejected May's Brexit deal last week but she still believes it can be saved and has promised to return to Brussels to secure further concessions that might win over her critics.

She will return to the Commons next Tuesday when MPs will have a chance to debate her approach and vote on amendments offering a different way forward.

The Labour amendment has little chance of success as it would need the support of members of May's Conservative party, who are unlikely to back a plan proposed by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.

But the very fact that a second referendum is now being openly discussed was welcomed by campaigners who want to stop Brexit altogether.

"It is a big step forward that for the first time my party is acknowledging in a parliamentary amendment that a People's Vote may be the only way forward," Labour MP David Lammy said.

There are other amendments that do have the support of pro-European Conservative MPs, including ones that seek to stop a potentially hugely disruptive "no deal" Brexit by seeking to delay the process.

Not all amendments will go to a vote. This is a decision for the Commons Speaker, John Bercow, who will make his selection next week. </s> Britain's Labour Party will support second Brexit referendum if Tories don't adopt EU deal proposals

Britain's opposition Labour Party says it would back calls for a second referendum on Brexit if Parliament rejects its alternative plan for leaving the European Union.

With just over a month until Britain is due to leave the bloc on March 29, Prime Minister Theresa May is seeking changes to her exit deal in order to break an impasse in Parliament.

Labour's decision could damage her hopes of winning support for a revised deal in a vote she has promised by March 12, by attracting those who would have backed her agreement to avoid a no-deal exit but who prefer a second referendum.

Parliament is due to debate and vote on Wednesday on the next steps in Britain's tortuous departure from the EU, and MPs are set to put down proposals, or amendments, which could include demanding the exit deal is put to a public vote.

On Monday (local time) Labour said it would put forward an amendment calling on the Government to adopt its Brexit proposals, which include a permanent customs union with the EU and close alignment with the bloc's single market.

"If Parliament rejects our plan, then Labour will deliver on the promise we made at our annual conference and support a public vote," Labour's Brexit spokesman Keir Starmer said on Twitter.

Parliament is not expected to back Labour's Brexit plan.

Labour said it would support a bid by one of its MPs, Yvette Cooper, to give Parliament the legal power to force Mrs May to delay Brexit by seeking an extension to the Article 50 negotiating period.

"We are committed to also putting forward or supporting an amendment in favour of a public vote to prevent a damaging Tory (Conservative) Brexit being forced on the country," Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was due to tell a meeting of his MPs on Monday, his office said.

"One way or another, we will do everything in our power to prevent no deal."

That amendment may not come at this week's vote in Parliament however.

A proposal by Labour MPs Peter Kyle and Phil Wilson that Mrs May's deal be put to the public in another referendum will not be put forward for a vote in Parliament until the Prime Minister brings her agreement back for approval.

"There's no turning back for Jeremy now," Mr Kyle said.

Mr Corbyn has been under pressure for some time to support a second referendum. Last week, eight referendum-supporting MPs quit the Labour Party, in part owing to frustration over his failure to back another vote.

The prospect of holding a second vote poses a dilemma for Mr Corbyn: while many of the party's members and supporters fervently back a so-called People's Vote, others simply want Britain to leave the EU as soon as possible.

Reaction from MPs in the meeting on Monday was split.

It remains unclear whether there is a majority in Parliament in favour of holding another public vote and Labour MP Stephen Kinnock said while he was pleased parliament would get a chance to express its view, he also had concerns.

"I still have deep reservations about the idea of having another referendum. I think it's going to be deeply divisive," he said.

Britons voted by 52-48 per cent in favour of leaving the EU in a referendum in 2016.

The Remain Labour campaign group, which wants to stop Brexit, said the announcement was "a significant step forward".

"A second referendum was only ever possible with the votes of Labour Members of Parliament and we are now on the verge of making this happen," founder Andrew Lewin said in a statement.

"We are not complacent, but we are closer tonight to a People's Vote than we have ever been." </s> Labour has said the Commons should be able to vote on whether to hold a second referendum in an amendment the party submitted on Monday night to Theresa May’s Brexit update.

It is the first time the party has asked MPs to formally consider a second poll, although the carefully worded compromise amendment did not commit the party’s leadership to backing a referendum if such a vote were to take place.

The wording called for May’s government to hold a vote on two options – its alternative Brexit plan and whether to legislate “to hold a public vote on a deal or a proposition” that is supported by a majority in the Commons.

The intervention came as the party’s leadership seeks to deal with divisions between Jeremy Corbyn and some of the leader’s closest allies who are sceptical about a second referendum and those who are more enthusiastic such as Brexit spokesman Sir Keir Starmer.

The party’s alternative Brexit plan, which would be the subject of a separate vote if the amendment were carried, proposes that the UK remain in a post-Brexit customs union with the European Union and have a strong relationship with the single market. Citizens’ rights and consumer standards would be harmonised with the EU’s.

Corbyn said: “Our amendment will allow MPs to vote on options to end this Brexit deadlock and prevent the chaos of a no-deal. It is time for Labour’s alternative plan to take centre stage, while keeping all options on the table, including the option of a public vote.”

But second referendum campaigners were last night gearing up to criticise the alternative Brexit plan. The People’s Vote campaign said that it was one of a series of Brexit promises – like no-deal – that were being made with “little regard for what could actually be delivered”.

The cross-party group, supported by dozens of Labour MPs, posed five questions that it believes Corbyn’s Brexit model struggles to answer, escalating tensions between campaigners and the party’s leadership.

A 16-page evaluation placed Labour’s plan on a par with both the no-deal option supported by hard Brexit Tories and the Norway-plus customs union alternative, in that they were no better than pledges made by the leave campaign at the time of the EU referendum.

“All three alternative plans,” the analysis added “share many similarities with the arguments made for Brexit in 2016 when big promises were made with little regard for what could actually be delivered.”

It quoted an interview with Corbyn in which he said he would be opposed to any deal that would make the UK poorer, and then cited a report by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research that said “every form of Brexit will damage the UK economy”.

The analysis also asked whether the UK would “have any say over its trade policy” under Labour’s policy of remaining in a customs union with some decision-making power over future EU trade agreements.

The document, whose authors are not named, said “it is almost inconceivable that the EU would agree” – citing the EU’s Lisbon treaty – and that “being in a customs union without a say would be very damaging” because the UK would be force to liberalise markets to third countries on a non-reciprocal basis.

Tensions within Labour have been rising as MPs who support a second referendum want to pressurise Corbyn into supporting another Brexit vote, in line with the party’s policy to explore it as an option if it cannot secure an early election.

A total of 71 Labour MPs declared they supported a second referendum last week on the morning of the day the party lost a vote of no confidence in Theresa May’s government, meaning that an early election was unlikely.

The group is planning to take the argument further at a news conference on Tuesday, fronted by Labour MPs David Lammy and Bridget Phillipson with Liberal Democrat deputy leader Jo Swinson and Caroline Lucas, the Green party only MP.

Labour backbencher and second referendum supporter David Lammy said the amendment represented “a big step forward” but added that the party’s alternative Brexit proposal “deserves to be properly scrutinised” now that Corbyn wanted it to be centre stage.

• This article was amended on 22 January 2019. An earlier version incorrectly referred to Caroline Lucas as the Green party’s leader in Westminster. She no longer has that role, however she is currently the party’s only MP. </s> 'This is the real deal,' one MP said

They were the words that many Labour MPs had been waiting a long time to hear.

"We are committed to also putting forward or supporting an amendment in favour of a public vote to prevent a damaging Tory Brexit being forced on the country," the Labour leader told a meeting of party MPs.

The first clear backing for another Brexit referendum though not until after another go, perhaps one last go, at getting Parliament to back the Labour "comprehensive customs union" plan.

That will be the amendment discussed and voted on this Wednesday.

But the plan then explained at the Parliamentary Labour Party meeting involved backing some version of the Kyle-Wilson amendment to the next meaningful vote, which would attach a public vote to the ratification of Theresa May's Brexit deal.

The PM announced this week the next meaningful vote will be held by 12 March.

"This is the real deal," MP Peter Kyle said. "There is no going back from this for the party now".

And the shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry suggested the party would campaign for Remain if this was against a "disastrous Tory Brexit".

That issue of what might be on the ballot paper required some explanation at the Labour MPs' meeting.

Trust levels are not high in the Labour Party or in politics generally at this tumultuous time.

And it is pretty clear that there is a TIG (The Independent Group) effect being felt in both main parties, wary of further defections.

The biggest impact of last week's drama has been in the leaders' offices of both main parties.

Labour has shifted on a second referendum, and the government will shift on a path to delaying Brexit this week too.

But Labour's path to this point was not caused by those defections.

Leading figures close to Jeremy Corbyn have been on side with the idea of a public vote on the Brexit deal - from union bosses to the shadow chancellor.

Key referendum sceptics have been cut out of internal leadership meetings in recent days.

Needless to say that this is a massive political risk, but one the Labour leadership could not afford not to make.

The shadow frontbench calculates that enough of its Leave voters will see that a vote is a last resort to prevent a crisis caused by the government.

Some Labour MPs such as Caroline Flint, John Mann and perhaps Stephen Kinnock, are deeply sceptical.

The upside here is to staunch the divide, and to gain the votes of millions of metropolitan Remainers who might otherwise be attracted TIG.

For the Kyle amendment on a referendum or something similar actually to pass though will require movement in the Conservative Party.

It is designed to create a coalition of Referendum-backers, Labour whipped votes and then Conservatives seeking a way to avoid a no-deal Brexit.

Labour's backing does not guarantee it passes. But it would have been impossible to pass without it. </s> Emily Thornberry Says Second Referendum Should Be Between PM’s Deal Or Remain

The shadow foreign secretary said Labour’s second referendum bid should be a choice between Theresa May’s Brexit deal or remaining in the EU.

Emily Thornberry added that in the event there was another vote, she would campaign for Remain.

She said the party had been left with “no choice” but to make the move which was announced on Monday evening.

Iain Dale told Ms Thornberry another vote was an “insult” to the five million Brexit supporting Labour voters at the last election.

Labour will now support or put forward an amendment in favour of a public vote to "prevent a damaging Tory Brexit being forced on the country”.

The party is also backing the Cooper-Letwin amendment to rule out a no deal outcome.

Speaking on LBC, Ms Thornberry said: “If we have a Prime Minister not prepared to budge, not prepared to engage, then we need to call on the people to help break the logjam.

“It should be a choice between Theresa May’s deal and remaining, and I will be campaigning to Remain in those circumstances.” </s> LONDON (Reuters) - British opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn moved a step closer to paving the way for another referendum on European Union membership by trying to use parliament to grab control of Brexit from Prime Minister Theresa May.

With the clock ticking down to March 29, the date set in law for Brexit, the United Kingdom is in the deepest political crisis in half a century as it grapples with how, or even whether, to exit the European project it joined in 1973.

Since May’s divorce deal with the EU was rejected by 432-202 lawmakers last week, the biggest defeat in modern British history, lawmakers have been trying to plot a course out of the crisis, yet no option has the support of -seat parliament.

Labour put forward an amendment seeking to force the government to give parliament time to consider and vote on options to prevent a “no deal” exit including a customs union with the EU, and “a public vote on a deal”.

“It is time for Labour’s alternative plan to take centre stage, while keeping all options on the table, including the option of a public vote,” said Corbyn, who put his name to the amendment.

It was the first time the Labour leadership had put forward in parliament the possibility of a second vote, which was welcomed by some opponents of Brexit.

However, the party said it did not mean it supported another referendum and lawmakers cautioned that the amendment would not garner the support of parliament.

Clarity from London is some way off: lawmakers have so far put forward six amendments with proposals for a delay to Brexit, a new vote and even for parliament to grab control of the process. They will vote on the next steps on Jan. 29.

Beyond the intrigues of British politics, the future of Brexit remains deeply unpredictable with options ranging from a disorderly exit that would spook investors across the world to a new referendum that could reverse the whole process.

IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde told CNBC on Tuesday that a no-deal Brexit was “obviously the worst case scenario”.

Ever since the United Kingdom voted by 52-48 percent to leave the EU in June 2016, Britain’s leaders have repeatedly failed to reach a consensus on how to leave the EU.

May on Monday proposed tweaking her deal, a bid to win over rebel Conservative lawmakers and the Northern Irish party which props up her government, but Labour said May was in denial about the crushing defeat of her plans.

She refused to rule out a no-deal Brexit, warning that another referendum would strengthen the hand of those seeking to break up the United Kingdom and could damage social cohesion by undermining faith in democracy.

With May’s Brexit policy in tatters, lawmakers in the British parliament are trying to wrest control of Brexit, though there is no clear majority for an alternative to May’s deal.

The EU was not impressed with May’s speech on Monday, as highlighted by the fact that none of its top officials nor its Brexit negotiator made any comments - positive or negative.

German Justice Minister Katarina Barley said on Tuesday she was disappointed by British Prime Minister Theresa May’s plan to break a deadlock over Brexit and suggested Britain hold a second referendum.

Without a approved deal or an alternative, the world’s fifth largest economy will move to basic World Trade Organization rules on March 29 — a nightmare scenario for manufacturers dependent on delicate supply chains which stretch across Europe and beyond.

Company chiefs are shocked at the political crisis and say it has already damaged Britain’s reputation as Europe’s pre-eminent destination for foreign investment.

“Brexit is the most stupid economic decision for a long time, the worst thing that can happen,” Kasper Rorsted, boss of German sportswear firm Adidas, told the Suddeutsche Zeitung.

Asked if Brexit could be averted, he said: “I think the train has already left the station. Emotionally, I hope that all parties can come to their senses.”

Supporters of Brexit say that while there may be some short-term disruption, the warnings of chaos are overblown and that in the long term, Britain will thrive if it cuts loose from what they cast as a doomed German-dominated experiment in European unity. </s> Theresa May has published her third Commons motion which allows MPs to add their own amendments on the next stage of the Brexit process.

The latest government motion is written in neutral terms and states: “This house notes the prime minister’s statement on leaving the European Union of 26 February 2019; and further notes that discussions between the UK and the EU are ongoing.”

MPs’ amendments are not legally binding but if any of them get majority support there will be considerable pressure on the government to act on them.

However, some pressure has been taken off Wednesday’s amendments after the prime minister promised on Tuesday to hold another meaningful vote on her Brexit deal on 12 March. If that fails to pass, MPs will be given a vote on leaving with no deal and, if that also fails, on extending article 50 beyond the 29 March departure deadline.

The Speaker will choose which of the following amendments, tabled before the start of the debate, will be put to a vote on Wednesday:

The Labour frontbench has put down an amendment that would give parliament a say on a Brexit deal the party could support, including a full customs union, stronger single market alignment and more robust protection for the environment and workers’ rights.

The five demands on the amendment mirror those sent by Jeremy Corbyn in a letter to Theresa May, spelling out changes the prime minister would need to seek in order to gain Labour support.

The amendment is unlikely to pass and if it does not, the party has committed to support any future amendments at the next voting opportunity, likely to be on 12 March.

Labour’s Yvette Cooper and the Conservatives’ Sir Oliver Letwin had rattled Downing Street with an amendment that would pave the way for a bill to extend article 50, which ministers had threatened to resign in order to support.

Letwin and that amendment’s other Tory backer, Nick Boles, have now said they are happy with the prime minister’s pledge to hold the votes on 13 and 14 March.

However, in order to hold the prime minister to her word, Cooper has tabled an amendment to reiterate May’s statement, in effect forcing the government to vote for her amendment.

Give MPs a vote on the form of the future relationship with the EU

The Tory and Labour MPs Caroline Spelman and Jack Dromey respectively won a vote on an amendment in early February to rule out a no-deal Brexit, though it was not legally binding.

The pair have tabled two further amendments, one of which puts legal guarantees on May’s commitment to give MPs a vote on delaying Brexit.

Like Cooper, Dromey and Spelman may not push their amendment to a vote if they get sufficient assurances from ministers during Wednesday’s debate.

Their second amendment would give MPs a chance to vote on 19 March on the form of the future relationship with the EU.

The amendment of the Conservative backbencher Alberto Costa has drawn the most cross-party support. It calls on the government to implement the part of the withdrawal agreement that includes citizens’ rights at “the earliest opportunity” regardless of the outcome of negotiations.

Supporters include Corbyn, the former Brexit secretary Dominic Raab, the chair of the European Research Group, Jacob Rees-Mogg, the Conservative MP Dominic Grieve, who is a high-profile supporter of a second referendum, and the Brexiter and former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith.

The home secretary, Sajid Javid, has indicated the government will support the amendment, though May sounded more pessimistic about its guarantees when answering questions from MPs on Tuesday.

The Independent Group of former Labour and Tory MPs has tabled an amendment demanding that the government start preparing for a second EU referendum.

The amendment has the support of the Scottish National party (SNP), the Liberal Democrats and Plaid Cymru and is aimed at provoking a further split in Labour by wooing MPs who want the party to support a new vote immediately.

Chris Leslie, who defected from Labour last week, called on his former party for support. “If the Labour leadership support this amendment, we could make real progress on a ‘people’s vote’.”

In reality, Labour’s leadership is unlikely to support the amendment because Corbyn wants to pursue his own Brexit plan.

Keep no deal on the table

The Conservative Eurosceptic John Baron has a caveat in his amendment, which says that “an extension to article 50 cannot take no deal off the table”. It has been signed by two other Brexiters, Mike Penning and Henry Smith.

The Green party MP Caroline Lucas has tabled an amendment calling for the government to rule out no deal on environmental grounds.

The amendment “expresses alarm at the disastrous implications of a no-deal Brexit for the UK’s environment, including vital protections for wildlife, nature and the marine environment, and calls on the government to urgently rule out a no-deal scenario.” It has cross-party support, including from the former Labour leader Ed Miliband and Plaid Cymru’s Liz Saville Roberts.

Tabled by the Lib Dem leader, Vince Cable, this amendment calls on the government to create “an emergency Brexit support fund of at least £7.5bn to mitigate job losses caused by Brexit uncertainty.”

It notes an estimated 750,000 people “would become jobless if the UK left the EU with no deal”.

This amendment from the SNP’s Angus MacNeil says the government should revoke article 50 so the UK cannot crash out without a deal. It has been signed by the Conservative remainer Ken Clarke.

Rule out no deal at any possible date

The SNP and Plaid Cymru have tabled an amendment suggesting the UK should not leave without a deal at any time, even if article 50 is extended.

This amendment from Plaid Cymru says Brexit should be delayed until the end of 2021 and that the government should “honour the will” of the Scottish parliament and Welsh assembly, which have called for a delay to the process. </s> LONDON: British MPs on Tuesday (Jan 29) voted on a series of amendments seeking to show what they want as Brexit approaches on Mar 29, with Britain currently on course to crash out of the EU without a withdrawal deal.

Earlier this month, they rejected the agreement Prime Minister Theresa May struck with the European Union late last year.

Now they have sent her back to Brussels to renegotiate -- and said they do not want Britain to leave the EU with no deal.

WHAT DO THEY WANT?

MPs backed an amendment by 317 votes to 301 that offers support for May's deal if she can remove the "backstop" arrangement intended to keep open Britain's border with Ireland.

The proposal from senior Conservative MP Graham Brady calls instead for "alternative arrangements" to avoid border checks.

Speaking before the vote, May said the amendment would give her a mandate to return to Brussels and negotiate a "significant and legally binding change" to the Brexit deal.

The vote united her Conservative party and their Northern Irish allies.

MPs have called previously for a unilateral exit clause from the backstop, or a time limit - both ideas rejected by the EU.

May emphasised she remained committed to avoiding any new border checks in Ireland.

MPs voted by 318 to 310 to support an amendment by Conservative MP Caroline Spelman rejecting the possibility that Britain leaves the European Union with no deal.

It is not legally binding but has political weight.

Speaking before the votes, May told MPs: "I, too, want to avoid leaving with no deal."

But she said the amendment "is missing the other half of the equation, for unless we are to end up with no Brexit at all, the only way to avoid no deal is to agree a deal".

MPs voted by 321 to 298 to reject a cross-party amendment which sought to delay Brexit to stop Britain leaving with no deal on Mar 29.

Presented by Labour MP Yvette Cooper, it would have cleared the Commons timetable on Feb 5 for a debate on a law to delay, if the government failed to agree a Brexit deal by Feb 26.

MPs also rejected by 327 votes to 296 an amendment by opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn demanding parliamentary time to vote on how "no deal" might be avoided.

He had offered two options: renegotiate a new UK-EU customs union and a "strong relationship" with the EU's single market, or hold a second referendum.

Another amendment from former Conservative minister Dominic Grieve, which would have allowed MPs to express their will in a series of votes right up to Brexit day, was also defeated by 321 votes to 301.

IS THAT IT?

The government has promised another vote on its Brexit deal as soon as possible.

May said on Tuesday that if she had no new deal to put to MPs before Feb 13, then they would be able to vote on the next steps on Feb 14.

Elsewhere, MPs could still seek to influence events by proposing amendments to a series of government bills that must pass parliament before Brexit day.

A growing number of ministers have also warned they will not accept a "no deal" Brexit, raising the possibility they could resign to try to stop such an outcome. </s> The Labour leadership sought on Monday to play down divisions over a second Brexit referendum after shadow chancellor John McDonnell suggested that the option of remaining in the EU would not be on the ballot.

Delegates at the party’s annual conference in Liverpool will vote on Tuesday on a lengthy, composite motion on Brexit that says that, if parliament rejects Theresa May’s Brexit deal, Labour will seek a general election. But if it cannot force an election, the party “must support all options remaining on the table, including campaigning for a public vote”.

Campaigners for a second referendum on Brexit have argued that voters should have the option of remaining in the EU rather than leaving on bad terms or with no deal. But Mr McDonnell said on Monday that the referendum should be on the Brexit deal the prime minister brings back.

“If we are going to respect the last referendum, it will be about the deal; it will be a negotiation on the deal,” he told the BBC.

“Parliament will determine the nature of the question that will be put, but the first stage of that is to see if we can get a deal that is acceptable and brings the country together again. And I’ve always thought we could.”

But the party’s shadow Brexit secretary Keir Starmer said that at a five-hour meeting on Sunday night to agree the wording of the Brexit motion, it was clear that remaining in the EU had to be an option.

“The meeting last night was very clear that the question of a public vote should be open. We weren’t ruling out options and nobody was ruling out Remain,” he said.

Pro-European MPs complained that the motion had been watered down to allow for a referendum only if Labour was unable to trigger a general election. Under the Fixed-term Parliaments Act, only a specific no-confidence motion or a two-thirds majority in the House of Commons can authorise an election.

Tottenham MP David Lammy, who is campaigning for a referendum on the final Brexit deal, said it would be farcical to have a vote without the option of remaining in the EU.

“A people’s vote is the only realistic option to save this country from the car crash of Brexit. No Tory or DUP MP is likely to vote for a general election. Turkeys do not tend to vote for Christmas,” he said.

“We’ve now got to turn up the noise until we secure a public vote which gives us the option to remain in the UK.”

The motion delegates will debate on Tuesday commits Labour to rejecting any Brexit deal that fails to guarantee that the Border will remain open.

“Conference resolves to reaffirm the Labour Party’s commitment to the Good Friday agreement of 1998 including no hard border in Ireland. Conference believes that there is no satisfactory technological solution that is compliant with the Good Friday agreement and resolves to oppose any Brexit deal that would see the restoration of a border on the island of Ireland in any form for goods, services or people,” the motion says.

Brendan Howlin, who is attending the conference as leader of the Irish Labour Party, said on Monday that there was no good Brexit option for Ireland.

“Obviously, the best outcome for Ireland would be one where there is a second referendum, in which the British people have the opportunity to democratically decide, based on new information, about the different options for the UK’s relationship with the European Union. Ireland would warmly welcome an outcome where the British people decided to remain in the EU,” he said.
The Labour Party proposes an amendment to the Brexit deal which would require a second referendum before the United Kingdom fully exits the European Union.