If Theresa May fails to win parliamentary approval for her Chequers plan to quit the EU, the opposition Labour Party will vote on Tuesday on a second Brexit referendum, even though Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is reluctant to support the motion.
Corbyn prefers a general election to a second Brexit, where the question would differ from the one posed during the 2016 Brexit referendum.
"We believe general election is the best solution because people can then have a wide-ranging debate and also then choose the team that would then do the negotiations," Corbyn’s finance spokesman John McDonnell told Sky News.
He added that a second referendum would be on the deal itself rather than a repeat of the question posed in 2016, whether to remain in the EU or to leave.
Open Options
With the Brexit deadline now less than 200 days away, Britain remains divided on the issue, with dividing lines running through both the governing Tories and the Labour Party.
Fearing that this would hurt the economy and imperil trade, many in the UK are now holding out for a second Brexit referendum, which they hope would overturn the results of the 2016 vote.
However, with Theresa May ruling out a second Brexit referendum and the March 2019 deadline edging closer, many in both parties are asking whether there is enough time left to stage another vote.
On Wednesday and Thursday, the EU heads of state and government gathered for an informal meeting in the Austrian city of Salzburg. During the talks, May presented her Brexit plan to other EU leaders, who characterized it as unworkable.
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