Fresh referendum ‘would do irreparable damage’ to British politics: May

British Prime Minister Theresa May will seek to quell growing support for a fresh referendum and is expected to say that it “would do irreparable damage to the integrity of our politics,” according to reports.

May will address the House of Commons on Monday and update MPs on her latest talks with EU leaders.

She will also insist that another public vote should not be seen as a solution to the deadlock gripping the Commons, after a senior cabinet minister suggested MPs should be allowed a free vote on the next stage of Brexit.

“Let us not break faith with the British people by trying to stage another referendum,” May is expected to say, according to released text of her speech.

“Another vote which would do irreparable damage to the integrity of our politics, because it would say to millions who trusted in democracy, that our democracy does not deliver,” she will say.

“Another vote which would likely leave us no further forward than the last. And another vote which would further divide our country at the very moment we should be working to unite it.”

The Labour Party has said it will do its best to force Prime Minister May to bring her European Union withdrawal deal to Parliament for a final vote before Christmas. 

The comments came a week after Prime Minister May postponed a parliamentary vote on her Brexit deal, fearing a heavy defeat. The premier defended the move, saying she would try to address domestic concerns about the current deal's so-called "backstop" clause by negotiating with EU partners. 

The move met with huge ire from the Labour and other parties in the Commons. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has repeatedly criticized the postponement while calling May, who went to several trips around Europe, a “runaway prime minister” who wanted to ignore Parliament in the Brexit process.

British Trade Minister Liam Fox on Sunday appeared to back calls for MPs to vote on whether to hold a fresh referendum.

Fox said he would did not want a second referendum, which he claimed would “perpetuate the divisions in the country,” but He suggested Parliament could be given a power on a range of Brexit options.

“It wasn’t the government that was given an instruction by the referendum, it was parliament,” he said.

“Parliament said in that referendum, ‘We can’t make a decision – in this particular area we are going to subcontract our sovereignty to the people.’ And they gave us an instruction. It’s time parliament carried it out.”

PressTV-Blair: UK must prepare for second Brexit referendum

The former British prime minister has called for the UK and the EU to prepare for a second Brexit referendum.

Last week, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair called for the United Kingdom and the European Union to prepare for a second Brexit referendum.

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