Attorney-General Geoffrey Cox has said there are “no preconditions” on a potential Brexit deal with Labour, and that the Tories will “of course” discuss the possibility of a second referendum.
“What I can say is this; the discussions that are currently going forward, with the Labour Party, with the Opposition, are being pursued in good faith, there are no preconditions to it,” said the Brexiteer, noted for his distinctive voice, in an appearance in the House of Commons.
“And of course we will listen to any suggestions that are made, whether it be about a second referendum or any other matter, to see if we can find common ground in the interest of the country to leave the European Union as swiftly as possible.”
Theresa May had originally promised — at least 108 times, from the Prime Minister’s despatch box — to take the United Kingdom out of the EU on March 29th, before asking the bloc for a delay to April 12th or May 22nd, depending on whether or not she could finally get her Withdrawal Agreement through Parliament.
Having failed to do so, she had now agreed a so-called “flexible extension”, or “flextension”, to October 31st — despite having previously said she would not accept any delay beyond June 30th.
EU leaders have been clear that they hope the repeated delays to Brexit will create space for it to be cancelled altogether, allowing a political class still dominated by Remainers to find an opportunity to overturn or re-run the battle won by Leave-supporting voters in 2016.
“Me personally I hope you will stay in the EU finally. Maybe you will have elections and a second referendum,” remarked Czech prime minister Andrej Babiš following the delay.
“It’s for the British people to think about the future of their country.”
Slovak prime minister Peter Pellegrini concurred, saying that “we gave Great Britain a chance and enough time to make some final decision” — despite the fact British voters were told repeatedly that their first decision would be “final” in 2016.
President of the European Council Donald Tusk, too, has said it is his “personal, quiet dream” that the United Kingdom will remain in the EU’s grip.
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