While defending her decision to delay the Brexit date to hostile MPs in the House of Commons, UK Prime Minister
Theresa May simultaneously
kept the door open for more talks with the opposition Labour party in
the hope that the two can find a compromise over the customs union
despite calls from her own Conservative backbenchers that she needed to
resign.
Hours after the EU-27 granted May a six-month delay for Brexit, which
includes an early exit clause, May admitting that “reaching an
agreement will not be easy because to be successful it will require both
sides to make compromises”.
May threw her support behind the EU-27’s Brexit delay after marathon
talks in Brussels that was a part of an extraordinary summit focused on
finding a way forward in the Brexit process. May’s statement on the
decision to delay Britain’s EU exit for a second time brought an angry
reaction from hardline Brexiteers from her own party. Conservative
eurosceptic
Bill Cash described the decision as “abject surrender”.
Along with Conservative Brexiteers, opposition Labour leader
Jeremy Corbyn,
with whom May is trying to negotiate a compromise on the future
relationship with the bloc, said that “this second extension in the
space of a fortnight represents not only a diplomatic failure but is
another milestone in the government’s mishandling of the entire Brexit
process”.
May and Corbyn have continued their talks, with the former saying she
thought, “Reaching an agreement will not be easy, because to be
successful it will require both sides to make compromises,” while
adding, “
However challenging it may be politically, I profoundly
believe that in this unique situation where the House is deadlocked, it
is incumbent on both front benches to seek to work together to deliver
what the British people voted for. And I think that the British people
expect their politicians to do just that when the national interest
demands it.”
May claims that the Tories and Labour are relatively close to an
agreement on the customs union, but that they still need to work on the
wording of their position.
Read more: May defends Brexit delay and hints at customs union compromise
