Thursday 29 November 2018

Has Adam Prince convinced Corbyn to back a "People's Vote"?

Is there an  real chance of Plaid Cymru and Labour  helping to build a coalition against Brexit "chaos", as  Plaid leader Adam Price has said?
His call came after a meeting with Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn Mr Price described as "productive".
He said the "least worst Brexit" would be to retain membership of the European single market and customs union.
Which is interesting  in that , Mr Corbyn has been seen to have a similar position on Brexit as Prime Minister May and not in favour of a Peoples Vote.
However Shadow chancellor John McDonnell has suggested it is "inevitable" another EU referendum will be called if Labour are not able to force a general election.
An election remains Labour's preferred option if - as is widely expected - MPs vote down Theresa May's Brexit deal on 11 December.
The shadow chancellor said forcing an election would be "very difficult".
And if it was not possible, he told the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg, the party would push for another referendum.
Mr McDonnell told the BBC's political editor:
 "We want a deal that will protect jobs and the economy.
"If we can't achieve that - the government can't achieve that - we should have a general election, but that's very difficult to do because of the nature of the legislation that David Cameron brought forward
.
Mr Price and Mr Corbyn  met as the Bank of England warned a no-deal Brexit could trigger a worse recession than the financial crisis
Mr Price said: 
"The best option available to us in terms of our economy is remaining in the European Union", but that "we need to take this decision back to the people" in the form of a further referendum on UK membership of the EU.
"We are seeking to cooperate with all opposition parties stop the chaos and deliver a workable solution.
"
In Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday, Theresa May said her plan for leaving the EU was "the best deal available for jobs and our economy, that allows us to honour the referendum and realise the opportunities of Brexit".
Mrs May is touring the UK to sell her deal to the public, ahead of a House of Commons vote on it on 11 December.
Many MPs across the chamber are deeply sceptical about her prospects of winning that vote.
Out of the 40 Welsh MPs,  a Wasting Mule  shows the vast majority are against the deal show only four of Mrs Mays 8 Welsh MPs have committed themselves to back her. With all the other Parties ie Plaid and Labour against 
  • Against: 33
  • Undecided: 2
  • Probably For: 1
  • For: 4
So the choice is either a  General Election which would resolve nothing as with the Tories split and Labour unclear what their Leader Corbyn wants. No one can claim a mandate for any form of Brexit

So  second referendum may be the only solution which Mrs May could word in her favour and have a  Three Way vote that includes her deal as option.

Such as

  1. No Deal
  2. The Prime Ministers Deal
  3. Remain in the EU.

Of course  this will be harder to interperate  if none of the options exceed 50% rather than as I expect a three way split, with only a small percentage .

Even a majority Remain vote  whilst it may stop Brexit  , will not heal the division and the whole sorry mess may take decades to resolve.

The fact that Mr Corbyn actually met Adam Price , could be an indication that he is prepared to back a second referendum . If so then the Plaid leader may have  pulled of a bit of a coup. 

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