Theresa May admits she can't pass her Brexit deal without Labour
Source: CNN
Theresa May admits she can't pass her Brexit deal without Labour
By Matt Wells, CNN
Updated 2130 GMT (0530 HKT) April 6, 2019
(CNN) British Prime Minister Theresa May has admitted that the only way of passing her Brexit deal is with support from the opposition Labour Party, in comments that are likely to deepen the tensions on her own side of the political divide in the UK.
In a statement released late Saturday, May said the deal she'd negotiated with the European Union had been rejected three times by Parliament and there was no chance of it passing in its current form. Given that Parliament has also made clear it will oppose a no-deal Brexit, the only way to secure a deal was through a compromise with Labour, she said.
"If we cannot secure a majority among Conservative and DUP MPs we have no choice but to reach out across the House of Commons," she said, referring to the Democratic Unionist Party, the small bloc from Northern Ireland that props up her minority government in the House of Commons.
May's statement is an admission that her previous strategy of attempting to win over the hardline elements of her own party has failed. But her declaration that the only way forward is a deal with the opposition will further enrage the Brexiteer wing of the Conservative Party.
It is a high-risk move -- it will almost certainly result in a loss of support for the deal from her own side, without any guarantee that the process underway with Labour will lead to a successful outcome. May, however, has pledged to step down as Conservative Party leader, and no longer needs its support. In her statement, she said a cross-party approach was "in the national interest."
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