British Labour MPs won't back a Brexit deal without a referendum according to senior Labour party sources. They estimate that around two-thirds of Labour representatives, constituting some 60 MPs, won't back any deal without the people's backing even if the Premier Theresa May makes a big offer.
The recent British local elections, which were interpreted by many as a referendum on the Brexit, left the conservative party without more than 1300 councilors, while the Labour party lost 82. This made the British Premier, backed by the Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn, say that the message was clear and that both parties should take care of the Brexit deal instead of continuing to delay it. Others interpreted the results as a repeal of the Brexit, since the liberal-democratic party that favors staying in the EU gained 703 seats, while the greens and the independents gained seats. The UK independence party, on the other hand, lost 80% of its seats.
Those results may have reinforced the position of many Labour party representatives who favor asking the British people about any potential new deal.
The shadow chancellor John McDonnell confirmed this on an interview last Friday.
“To get any deal over the line you’ve got to recognize there will be a large number of MPs in parliament who actually do support a public vote," he said.
Meanwhile, about 100 opposition MPs expressed recently that they wouldn't support a Brexit deal without first asking the British people. Other MPs believe that between 150 and 180 Labour MPs wouldn't support a deal without a confirmatory vote.
“Jeremy cannot be sure he has the numbers – even if he whipped it – so he cannot do a deal without a confirmatory vote," said one shadow cabinet minister.
Whether the British parliament will take this road is still not clear, especially because there are many Labour MPs who say that the result of the first referendum must be respected.