Is delaying Brexit now inevitable and no deal IMPOSSIBLE? Corbyn meets Yvette Cooper amid signals Labour will back her plot to extend Article 50 ahead of vote on Tuesday
eremy Corbyn met with Yvette Cooper for Brexit talks this afternoon amid mounting speculation he will back her plot to extend Article 50 and delay the UK’s exit.
Labour sources said the meeting in Mr Corbyn’s parliamentary office this afternoon was ‘positive’ ahead of the crucial vote on a so-called Brexit Plan B on Tuesday.
Ms Cooper has teamed up with Tory Remainers to table an amendment to seize control of parliamentary business so legislation can be passed extending Article 50 until the end of the year.
Her plan will stop the UK crashing out of the EU without a deal and delay Brexit until 2020.
Shadow chancellor John McDonnell said his party is ‘highly likely’ to support the plan, which is expected to be voted on in next Tuesday’s Brexit showdown.
The endorsement puts Mrs May on track for another humiliating defeat when the plan comes before the Commons next week, as more than a dozen Tories have vowed to rebel.
Mrs May is pinning her political future on winning fresh concessions from the EU that can bring Tory rebels and the DUP back on side after her deal was humiliatingly rejected by a record margin last week.
But faint signs of movement from hardliners including Jacob Rees-Mogg could prove too late for No10 as Remainers from across parties plot to force a delay in the Brexit date.
The amendment tabled by Yvette Cooper would effectively turn the constitution on its head by seizing control of Parliamentary business from the government – allowing backbench MPs to put forward legislation demanding an extension to the Article 50 process.