British Prime Minister Theresa May will meet opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn on Wednesday to thrash out a Brexit compromise, a gamble that could finally see a European Union divorce deal agreed but also tear her party apart.
After her EU withdrawal deal was rejected three times by lawmakers, with parliament and her Conservative Party hopelessly divided over Brexit, May said on Tuesday she would reach out to Corbyn in a bid to break the impasse.
The United Kingdom was supposed to leave the EU last Friday, but three years after Britons backed leaving the bloc in a referendum, it is still unclear how, when or even if it will do so Reuters said.
May has been unable to persuade a hardcore eurosceptic group of own lawmakers to back the divorce agreement she struck with the EU because they argued it did not provide a decisive break with Europe.
Her decision to seek another short delay to the current Brexit date of April 12 and turn instead for support from Labour, which wants to stay in a customs union with the EU, may make a “soft” Brexit more likely one that keeps Britain’s economy closely aligned to the world’s biggest trading bloc.
Sterling rose on Wednesday over hopes for a “softer” Brexit, hitting its highest level since March 28.
“I personally think a customs union is highly undesirable,” Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay told BBC radio.
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“It is regrettable that what we have been saying for several months now is coming to pass, but that is the remorseless logic of not backing the prime minister’s deal.”
May’s decision to approach Corbyn, a veteran socialist deeply disliked by many Conservatives and mocked by May herself as unfit to govern, still leaves many questions unanswered.
She did not spell out how long a delay to Brexit she wanted, merely saying it should be “as short as possible and which ends when we pass a deal”. She has repeatedly said she did not want an extension which would see Britain having to take part in elections to the European Parliament on May 23.
European Council President Donald Tusk said the bloc should be patient with Britain as May tries to find a way forward but it was not certain how European leaders would view her request.
As it stands, Britain will still leave the EU on April 12 without a deal, something many Conservative lawmakers would like to happen but a scenario businesses fear could wreak chaos and cause huge economic damage.
A cross-party group of British lawmakers will try on Wednesday try to rush through legislation in parliament to make such an outcome impossible.
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