Brexit: Where do the parties stand?

10/23/19, BBC

The government's Brexit legislation is officially in "limbo" after MPs rejected the three-day timetable for getting the Brexit bill through Parliament. But where do the parties stand on Brexit?

Conservatives - 288 MPs - Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said he wants to leave the European Union (EU) on 31 October "do or die". Mr. Johnson succeeded in negotiating a revised deal which scrapped the controversial Irish backstop and replaced it with a new customs arrangement. While he wants to leave with a deal, the PM says he is willing to exit without one, in order to deliver Brexit by the current deadline. However, this pledge now looks to be out of his hands. Mr. Johnson was forced to write a Brexit extension letter to the EU after MPs failed to approve the revised deal by 19 October. If the EU grants an extension which moves the Brexit deadline to the New Year, Mr. Johnson says he will push for an early election.

Labor - 245 MPs - Labor favors another public vote on Brexit. If the party wins an election, Jeremy Corbyn says he will hold a referendum which offers a "credible" Leave option versus Remain. Under its Leave option, Labor says it will negotiate for the UK to remain in an EU customs union, and retain a "close" single market relationship.  This would allow the UK to continue trading with the EU with minimal checks, but it would prevent it from striking its own trade deals with other countries.

SNP - 35 MPs - The SNP is pro-Remain and wants the UK to stay a member of the EU. It has been campaigning for another referendum on Brexit. The SNP's ultimate objective is for an independent Scotland that is a full member of the EU.

Liberal Democrats - 19 MPs - The Liberal Democrats have pledged to cancel Brexit if they win power at the next general election. This is new policy, which was endorsed by party members in September at the Lib Dem annual conference.

Plaid Cymru - 4 MPs - The party backs remaining in the EU, despite Wales voting "out" in the referendum. It wants a further referendum and to Remain.

Brexit Party - 0 MPs - The Brexit Party wants the UK to leave the EU without a deal in what it calls a "clean-break Brexit".

Brexit has left the Conservative Party heavily divided, with 21 of its MPs expelled after they voted to pave the way for a possible extension to the Brexit deadline.

  

If a referendum was held, Mr Corbyn has not said which way he would vote, although he has pledged "to carry out whatever the people decide". Other senior figures, including shadow chancellor John McDonnell and shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry, have said they favor remaining in the EU. Labor has so far resisted the government's attempts to hold an early election. It says it won't agree to one until the threat of a no-deal Brexit has been taken "off the table".  Just like the Conservatives, Labor has had to deal with internal divisions over its Brexit policy. More than 25 Labor MPs wrote to Mr Corbyn in June, saying another public vote would be "toxic to our bedrock Labor voters".

The Lib Dems say they will continue to work with other parties to try to bring about a referendum before an election is called.

Democratic Unionist Party - 10 MPs - The DUP has an agreement with the Conservatives whereby it lends support in the Commons.  However, while the DUP wants the UK to leave the EU, it is unhappy with the revised deal negotiated by Mr. Johnson. It's worried that the integrity of the union between Northern Ireland and rest of the UK could be threatened, because Northern Ireland would have to stick to some EU rules. The DUP wants to be given a veto, so that it has the option to reject the new customs arrangement in the future.

The Independent Group for Change - 5 MPs - This party is made up of MPs who left the Conservatives and Labour, in part because of their positions on Brexit. They back another referendum, or "People's Vote", and want the UK to remain in the EU.

Green Party - 1 MP - The party's one MP, Caroline Lucas, has been a vocal campaigner for another referendum, and believes the UK should stay in the EU.

It say Mr. Johnson's revised Brexit plan is a bad deal because it does not "maximize the Brexit opportunities".

The party has previously pledged to stand candidates in all 650 seats across the UK, in the event an an early election.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-48027580

Party Votes        Exit EU       Remain     Leave UK

Conservative      267               21

Labor                                    245

Scottish NP                             35              35   

Lib Dem                                  19

Plad Cymru                              4

Green                                       1

Brexit                     0

                           267             325

The minor parties not mentioned in this article are:

Independent               35

Sinn Fein                      7

Group for Change        5

                                    47

The EU has approved an extension up to January 2020.

Boris Johnson is pushing to hold an election of Parliament in December 2019 to give UK voters a chance to replace members who are resisting Brexit.

It is clear that the Labor Party is the target of this election. Working-class Brits have been damaged the most from this EU membership.

The Parliament needs to be replaced with members who support voter demands for sovereignty.

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader