LONDON: Britain's main opposition Labor party yesterday for the first time conditionally backed holding another Brexit referendum, in which it would support remaining in the European Union. Labor will now challenge whoever wins the Conservative Party leadership race and becomes prime minister to put any deal they strike with the EU to a referendum, "with remain on the ballot, in which Labor would campaign for remain," the party said in a statement.

The issue has divided the party. Many of its voters in working-class areas voted to leave the EU in the Brexit referendum of 2016. But the majority of Labor MPs strongly support remaining in the EU. Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, a veteran eurosceptic, had resisted strong pressure to back another vote. But he relented after Labor-affiliated trade unions agreed on Monday to support the move. Labor will now back remaining in the EU over leaving without a deal or supporting a Conservative-brokered deal. Yet what it will do if it takes power before Britain has left is dependent on what type of deal it could agree with Brussels.

Fear over 'no deal' divorce
The party's previous policy was to respect the 2016 referendum, but the chaotic process of leaving the EU has emboldened those hoping to stay in. "As democrats, Labor accepted the result of the 2016 referendum," Corbyn wrote in an email to party members. "In our 2017 manifesto, Labor also committed to oppose a No Deal Brexit and the Tories' Brexit plans," he added, calling on the incoming prime minister to hold a general election.

Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May is stepping down this month after failing to get her EU divorce plan through parliament. The two men vying to replace her, Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt, have both said they were willing to take Britain out of the EU with no deal on October 31.

However, the majority of members of parliament-including Labor-are against a "no deal" option, fearing dire economic consequences. Neither Hunt nor Johnson supports the idea of a second referendum. If the political deadlock continues, many in Westminster believe a snap election is inevitable.-AFP