Thousands of Labour Members Demand New Brexit Referendum

Thousands of Labour Party members in Great Britain are now demanding that their party oppose Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit deal and back a second referendum. In addition, a new opinion poll published on Sunday showed that British voters also want a new referendum so they can  make the final decision about EU membership themselves.

The call from members of the Labour Party came before a party meeting which will be held amid warnings that some are already ending their party membership over the Brexit issue.

The pressure on May is getting intense as the biggest Brexit poll conducted since the referendum showed support for Labour would fall precipitously if it backs or allow its Members of Parliament to back May’s unpopular Brexit deal.

More than 5,000 Labour members contacted the party in advance of its key meeting of senior figures this week that will determine policies going forward. The Labour National Policy Forum includes trade union bosses, senior party officials and shadow cabinet ministers. It will meet on Wednesday and give officials the chance to publicly testify that Labour members are quitting over the party’s refusal to oppose Brexit.

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More Britons want to remain a member of the European Union than leave, according to the new survey. Britain is due leave the European Union on March 29, but Prime Minister Theresa May has not been able to get her exit deal approved by parliament. This threatens the entire deal and makes it unclear whether a deal is even possible.

This in turn has made many British leaders question whether the country will ever actually leave the EU.

The survey, by polling firm YouGov showed that if a referendum were held today, 46 percent would vote to remain in the EU while just 39 percent would vote to leave.

When the undecided and those who refused to answer were removed from the survey results, the split was 54-46 in favor of remaining in the EU.

This new poll agrees with other polls in recent months which show a deeply divided electorate, but it also shows that public opinion has moved towards remaining in the EU. The 2016 Brexit referendum voted 52 to 48 percent in favour of leaving.

There have been charges that the Brexit vote was influenced by Russian collusion because Russia was hoping to destroy the European Union in order to advance it’s own geopolitical goals.

Leo Vidal

I am a lifelong Democrat with a passion for social justice and progressive issues. I have degrees in writing, economics and law from the University of Iowa.