REVIEW - UK Opposition Hardens Position On Brexit Amid Political Crisis

LONDON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 11th September, 2019) The United Kingdom's opposition parties, after a sharp escalation of the political crisis in the country, changed their position regarding Brexit: the Labour Party intends to demand a second referendum on EU membership, and the Liberal Democrats demand to overturn the decision to leave the European Union. The pressure on conservatives, who have lost the majority in the country's parliament, is growing, and Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government risks finding itself in a helpless situation, facing dissatisfaction even from fellow party members.

The decision to suspend the UK parliament came into force on Monday and caused a new wave of political crisis, which has been going on for more than a year because of disagreements on Brexit (the United Kingdom leaving the European Union). In the past two months, Johnson's new conservative government has put its party on the brink of a split.

The opposition and some conservatives suspect Johnson of hiding information on negotiations with the European Union and of having an ulterior motive to withdraw the country from the European Union without a deal. At the same time, Johnson's cabinet has been defeated during a parliamentary vote on all the key issues and has lost control of the House of Commons.

"Our priority is first to stop no-deal [Brexit] and then to trigger a general election," Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn said on Tuesday, speaking to party members.

He also said that during the campaign before these elections, his party would support a second referendum.

"And in that election we will commit to a public vote with a credible option to leave [the European Union] and the option to remain," Corbyn added.

During the debate on Johnson's proposal to hold parliamentary elections, the head of the Liberal Democrats party, Jo Swinson, also announced that her party's position had changed. According to her, given the endless debate on the conditions for withdrawing from the European Union, the Brexit procedure should be completely suspended.

Earlier, Corbyn stated his intention to fulfill the will of the people who spoke out in 2016 for a "divorce" with Europe, but he demanded to carry out the withdrawal on more favorable terms for the United Kingdom.

The leaders of the Liberal Democrats party spoke about the need to hold a second referendum and find out what citizens currently think about Brexit.

On another important issue for the country � early general elections �the opposition confirmed its previous position: they will support the elections but only after the possibility of Brexit without a deal is excluded.

Earlier, Johnson proposed holding elections before the October Brexit date, but was accused of trying to pull the country out of the European Union without an agreement which would have disastrous consequences for the United Kingdom.

The opposition, which had previously also called for early elections in the hope of increasing its presence in the UK parliament, laid down a condition: the elections would be held, but only after the prime minister agreed with Brussels.

"[Work and Pensions Secretary] Amber Rudd's resignation confirmed that the government is not serious about trying to get a deal in Brussels. As the prime minister's top adviser reportedly said: the negotiations are 'a sham.' No one can trust the word of a prime minister who is threatening to break the law to force through no deal. So a general election is coming. But we won't allow Johnson to dictate the terms," Corbyn stated.

No one can predict how the situation will develop and whether conservatives will be able to take it under control. The prime minister, with faith in his own abilities, appears to be provoking the opposition. Sputnik sources in the Labour Party and the Conservative Party have suggested that the UK political crisis is only getting worse.

A member of the Labour Party told Sputnik that currently, when the conservative government is going through hard times, there are indications for holding elections on the terms of the opposition, and, given all the accusations against Johnson about his intentions, it could be assumed that the prime minister would not be able to oppose the united opposition.

Conservatives also think that the current situation is difficult, but they hope the prime minister will be able to find a way out of it as he has a strategy and all the necessary work is in progress.

The United Kingdom has to leave the European Union on October 31, but the country's government has passed a law obliging the prime minister to request a delay of Brexit if a deal on the withdrawal from the union is not agreed upon and approved by the parties before October 19.