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The Guardian

UK MPs looking to stop no deal are exploring ways to bring back a version of Theresa May’s Brexit deal plus a vote on a second referendum in the last two weeks of October, amid concerns Prime Minister Boris Johnson will still try to pursue a no-deal departure.
Several sources told The Guardian that MPs will spend the next few weeks working on ways to bring back the deal – with added concessions to the Labour Party – to the House of Commons via a backbencher or a temporary prime minister.
MPs working on the options said more Tory and former Tory MPs were now open to backing a Brexit deal with a second referendum added, taking the UK parliament closer to a cross-party majority for the plan.
One former Tory MP said the option was under consideration and would “certainly have to be linked to a referendum”.
He added: “We will know in those two weeks whether it is possible or not”.

Another former Tory said: “There is an element of seeing what the next step is from No 10. A lot would be pretty hesitant about backing a referendum until all other options have been tried. But, more attractive, is a way of bringing a deal back on to the table – a version of what was agreed between May and (opposition leader Jeremy) Corbyn. And then have a confirmatory vote attached to it, or someone amends one on.”
Another MP who supports a people’s vote said there were “a number of devices” that could enable MPs to bring forward May’s deal for parliament to work on, and claimed there was “lots of movement in the last 24 to 36 hours” among those trying to stop Johnson ignoring parliament’s direction to request an extension from the EU if a deal is not reached by mid-October.
What is Boris Johnson’s Brexit strategy after shutting down parliament?
It comes as Ken Clarke, the veteran Tory who had the whip withdrawn last week, urged Johnson to “put together a cross-party alliance to get a deal through”, as he believed it could now achieve a majority with Labour MPs who regretted having not voted for it previously.
In scathing remarks about the state of politics, he described both Johnson and Corbyn as representing “an absurd choice for the premiership of this country” and said the situation was the worst crisis in his political lifetime, amounting to a “tragic farce”.
The UK parliament has repeatedly failed to find a compromise, but there are signs more opposition MPs are prepared to countenance voting for a deal.
A separate cross-party group of opposition MPs formally launched a campaign to win support for Brexit via a managed deal on Tuesday.

The founders, who include Labour MPs Stephen Kinnock and Caroline Flint, Lib Dem MP Norman Lamb and former Tory MP Rory Stewart – claimed up to 50 MPs may back the plan.
Their proposal would involve using elements of May’s Brexit legislation as the basis for an agreement which Johnson could steer through parliament, possibly in time for an October 31 departure.
Those supporting a second referendum would try to amend any proposal for a deal to secure a “people’s vote”.
Several MPs who support the people’s vote campaign said an increasing numbers of Tory MPs were coming around to the idea of a confirmatory referendum to break the impasse, including Sir Oliver Letwin, who told the BBC’s Today programme on Tuesday: “If [Boris Johnson] can’t get a deal that he can bring to the House of Commons and get a majority for, there’s another option of course, which is to bring back a deal and ensure a majority for it by attaching it to a referendum.
“I think it’s pretty clear there’s a huge number of Labour MPs, Liberal Democrat MPs, SNP MPs, who would vote for any reasonable deal subject to a referendum and I think there’s now an increasing number of Conservatives and ex-Conservatives who would as well, so I think there is a majority there too.”
Suffering Brexhaustion? Here’s a handy guide to UK Brexit-speak
The Labour frontbench would be sceptical about voting for any deal that was not negotiated by a Labour prime minister but could come under pressure from many of its MPs and members to compromise if it achieved a second referendum.
Any such moves would increase pressure on Johnson to get his own deal with the EU and on Eurosceptic Tories to back him rather than risk a second referendum.


There is still a possibility that the prime minister could climb down on his demand to entirely replace the Irish backstop with another solution and settle for a more minor tweak to the political declaration, before putting that fresh deal to a vote and challenging the Eurosceptic holdouts to vote for it or lose the whip.
However, he has so far been insistent that what he calls the “anti-democratic backstop” must be removed while the EU is adamant that is not possible, leading to a stalemate on his prospects for a negotiated deal.


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Brexit

Second referendum? UK MPs want to revive Theresa May’s Brexit deal

MPs behind the plan still believe Boris Johnson may try to push through a no-deal Brexit at the end of October. Photo: Reuters

Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson puts his hand up to answer a question as he attends a year four history class with pupils during a visit to Pimlico Primary school in London, Britain, September 10, 2019. REUTERS/Toby Melville/Pool

Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May speaks at Chatham House in London, Britain July 17, 2019. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls/Pool TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

What is Boris Johnson’s Brexit strategy after shutting down parliament?

Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson attends a class during his visit to Pimlico Primary school in London on Tuesday. Photo: AFP

Anti-Brexit activists, and demonstrators opposing the British government's actions in relation to the handling of Brexit, protest near Downing Street in central London on September 10, 2019. - Beleaguered British Prime Minister Boris Johnson vowed to continue with his attempts to strike a new Brexit deal with Brussels, after losing yet another parliamentary vote to hold an early election. (Photo by Tolga Akmen / AFP)

Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Arlene Foster (R) and deputy Nigel Dodds leave from 10 Downing Street in central London on September 10, 2019, where they met with Britain's Prime Minister. - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson insisted Tuesday he was working hard to strike a divorce deal with the EU, after he suspended parliament following a series of bruising defeats by MPs over his Brexit plan. (Photo by Tolga AKMEN / AFP)

Jeremy Corbyn, opposition Labour party leader speaks during the Trades Union (TUC) Congress in Brighton, southern England on September 10, 2019. (Photo by Ben STANSALL / AFP)

Suffering Brexhaustion? Here’s a handy guide to UK Brexit-speak

Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson: he often looks like this. Photo: AFP

TOPSHOT - Anti-Brexit demonstrators hold up placards as they march outside the Houses of Parliament in central London on September 3, 2019. - The fate of Brexit hung in the balance on Tuesday as parliament prepared for an explosive showdown with Prime Minister Boris Johnson's that could end in a snap election. Members of Johnson's own Conservative party, including Philip Hammond, are preparing to join opposition lawmakers in a vote to try to force a delay to Britain's exit from the European Union if he cannot secure a divorce deal with Brussels in the next few weeks. (Photo by ISABEL INFANTES / AFP)

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Cross-party majority moving closer as more current and ex-Tories open to idea, source says



Move comes amid concerns that Prime Minister Boris Johnson will still try to pursue a no-deal departure from Europe.


Boris Johnson

Theresa May

Second referendum? UK MPs want to revive Theresa May’s Brexit deal

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;} Cross-party majority moving closer as more current and ex-Tories open to idea, source says

Cross-party majority moving closer as more current and ex-Tories open to idea, source says