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UK needs referendum to escape political paralysis: Analyst

Saturday, 28 July 2018 7:48 AM [ Last Update: Saturday, 28 July 2018 8:05 AM ]

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This file photo shows EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier (R) and Britain's Brexit minister Dominic Raab.

The United Kingdom needs to hold a referendum to heal the political division that has deepened over the government’s plan to exit the European Union, says a British analyst and activist.

“I think a general election or a referendum is the only way that Britain can escape the political paralysis that has gripped Westminster,” said Lee Jasper, senior policy adviser to former London Mayor Ken Livingstone.

British voters are increasingly dissatisfied with Prime Minister Theresa May and her government, and more British voters favor a second referendum on the final terms of any Brexit deal with the EU, according to a new opinion poll.

When voters were asked in a YouGov poll whether there should be a referendum on the final terms of any deal over exiting the EU, 42 percent said there should be a fresh vote while 40 percent said there should not. The rest did not know.

“It’s clear that the country is divided, the house of parliament is divided, more importantly the Tory party is engaged in a act of communal suicide,” Jasper told Press TV on Friday.

“Something needs to be done to alleviate the deadlock.”

May has stepped up planning for a so called “no-deal” Brexit that would see the world’s fifth largest economy crash out of the EU on March 29, 2019, a step that could spook financial markets and dislocate trade flows across Europe and beyond.

PressTV-UK voters increasingly unhappy with PM May: Poll

UK Prime Minister Theresa May’s approval ratings have plunged, according to opinion polls.

Recently the PM released her government’s official negotiations policy known as her White Paper strategy which details what the UK wants in a future relationship with the EU.

May hoped the paper would unite her warring party behind a joint vision. However, a number of her front-bench MPs, including Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and her Brexit negotiator David Davis, have resigned over the strategy.

The EU's chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, who has been authorized by the bloc to evaluate and respond to the UK position, has publicly rejected much of May’s proposals.

Meanwhile, more than 300,000 people have signed a petition demanding a “Final Say” referendum on the Brexit deal.

The campaign, launched by The Independent, has garnered support from both Leave and Remain camps.

Influential politicians such as former Tory cabinet minister Justine Greening, former Prime Minister Tony Blair, Liberal Democrat leader Vince Cable, and Green leader Caroline Lucas have backed the idea of a referendum.

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