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Tory MP says joining in EU elections would be ‘existential threat’ to party | Tory MP says joining in EU elections would be ‘existential threat’ to party |
(32 minutes later) | |
Theresa May has been warned that a long delay to Brexit could deal a fatal blow to the Conservatives, with one minister claiming that participating in the European elections would be a “suicide note” for the party. | Theresa May has been warned that a long delay to Brexit could deal a fatal blow to the Conservatives, with one minister claiming that participating in the European elections would be a “suicide note” for the party. |
The warning came as the government continues intensive talks to find a Brexit compromise with Labour. | |
The education minister Nadhim Zahawi told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I think it’s important that parliament acts quickly now to decide what it is in favour of. We need to do that quickly because I think going into the EU elections for the Conservative party, or indeed for the Labour party, and telling our constituents why we haven’t been able to deliver Brexit I think would be an existential threat. | |
A shambles on which the sun never sets: how the world sees Brexit | A shambles on which the sun never sets: how the world sees Brexit |
“I would go further and say it would be the suicide note of the Conservative party.” | “I would go further and say it would be the suicide note of the Conservative party.” |
Zahawi said that if Labour and the government failed to find a joint approach, then MPs should be forced to find a compromise through a preferential voting system to find a solution before the European elections. | |
Hopes of finding a Brexit deal with cross-party support faded on Friday, after Labour claimed May had failed to offer “real change or compromise” during ongoing talks. Labour issued a statement urging May to come forward with “genuine changes” so her deal could finally win support in parliament. | |
The chancellor, Philip Hammond, has denied the government has any “red lines” in the talks. At a meeting of EU finance ministers in Bucharest on Saturday morning, Hammond said: “We should be open to listen to suggestions that others have made. Some people in the Labour party are making other suggestions to us; of course we have to be prepared to discuss them. | |
“Our approach to these discussions with Labour is that we have no red lines – we will go into these talks with an open mind and discuss everything with them in a constructive fashion.” | “Our approach to these discussions with Labour is that we have no red lines – we will go into these talks with an open mind and discuss everything with them in a constructive fashion.” |
The shadow home secretary, Diane Abbott, said Labour was concerned that the government was not willing to make changes to the political declaration. She told the Today programme: “There’s no question that the mess we are in is Theresa May’s mess, even Tory MPs accept that. | |
'My Brexit nightmare': readers on how the uncertainty is affecting their lives | 'My Brexit nightmare': readers on how the uncertainty is affecting their lives |
“The Labour party has stepped up, we want to help. We are engaged in these talks in good faith but the government perhaps has to show a little more flexibility than it seems to have done so far.” | “The Labour party has stepped up, we want to help. We are engaged in these talks in good faith but the government perhaps has to show a little more flexibility than it seems to have done so far.” |
Labour has said it wants a customs union, single market alignment, protection of rights and “some kind of people’s vote”. When asked whether any Brexit deal should have a second referendum attached to it, Abbott said: “We are not saying anything definitively but we have a position.” While it “has to be part of the negotiations”, Abbott said “we have not gone into these talks being dogmatic”. | Labour has said it wants a customs union, single market alignment, protection of rights and “some kind of people’s vote”. When asked whether any Brexit deal should have a second referendum attached to it, Abbott said: “We are not saying anything definitively but we have a position.” While it “has to be part of the negotiations”, Abbott said “we have not gone into these talks being dogmatic”. |
On Friday, May wrote to the European council president, Donald Tusk, asking for Brexit to be delayed until 30 June, while cross-party talks continued. But an extension is not automatic and requires the agreement of all 27 other EU countries, with France one of those most cautious about agreeing to it. | |
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