WATCH: Andrea Leadsom says it would be ‘appalling’ for ministers to consider second Brexit referendum
3 min read
Andrea Leadsom has said it would be “appalling” for ministers to consider the option of a second Brexit referendum as part of an effort to pass Theresa May’s deal.
The Leader of the Commons laid down her red line just days after Philip Hammond said those calling for a vote on any EU deal were pushing "a perfectly credible proposition" that "deserves to be tested in Parliament".
Downing Street later slapped down the Chancellor’s comments, however the option remains on the table for Labour, who Mrs May is currently locked in discussions with in a bid to break the impasse.
Mrs May today said she had “no choice” but to reach out to Jeremy Corbyn after hardline Brexiteer Tories and the DUP knocked back her deal on three occasions.
Meanwhile Ms Leadsom, an ardent Brexiteer within the Cabinet, wrote in the Daily Telegraph that agreeing to a second vote would be a “betrayal” of those who voted Leave in 2016.
Doubling down on her comments on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show, she said: “I totally stand by that.
“It is appalling to consider another referendum, mainly because this sort of talk of it as a confirmatory referendum, no its not, it’s an attempt by those who were on the Remain side of the argument to run it again, to put it back to the people, with, by the way, Remain on the ballot paper.
“Nobody is for one moment saying this is just to confirm the Prime Minister’s deal or even [leaving without a deal].
“It is to try and rerun the referendum. We had a people’s vote in 2016 and we have to do what we were told to do.”
When asked about Mr Hammond’s comments, she responded: “What I’m saying is that it is absolutely not Government policy, I am absolutely assured there is no intention whatsoever to seek a referendum.”
Elsewhere, the frontbencher said the Government was negotiating with Mr Corbyn “through gritted teeth”, but that a compromise was she believed possible.
“Working with Jeremy Corbyn is not something I want to do at all, it’s not something the Prime Minister wants to do, but far worse than that would be to fail to deliver on Brexit.”
In a statement last night Mrs May warned her MPs that failure to agree a way through Mr Corbyn could see Britain’s bid to quit the EU “slip through our fingers”.
"The fact is that on Brexit there are areas where the two main parties agree: we both want to end free movement, we both want to leave with a good deal, and we both want to protect jobs.
“That is the basis for a compromise that can win a majority in Parliament and winning that majority is the only way to deliver Brexit.
“The longer this takes, the greater the risk of the UK never leaving at all. It would mean letting the Brexit the British people voted for slip through our fingers.
“I will not stand for that. It is essential we deliver what people voted for and to do that we need to get a deal over the line.”
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