Prime Minister Theresa May was to meet Wednesday with Britain’s main opposition party leader in a bid to forge a Brexit compromise that avoids a dreaded “no-deal” departure from the EU in nine days.
May decided to tear up her steadfast negotiating strategy and seek Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn’s support in a moment of peril for both her country and government.
Her divorce deal with the other 27 EU nations has been rejected three times by parliament and patience with London is wearing thin in Brussels as the 46-year partnership nears a potentially chaotic end.
The premier emerged from an intense seven-hour meeting with her ministers Tuesday to announce she would seek another “short” Brexit extension at an EU leaders’ summit in Brussels on April 10.
She crucially added that she was now willing to bend her previous principles and would listen to proposals for much closer post-Brexit relations with the EU than most in her Conservative party are ready to accept.
“I think there are actually a number of areas that we agree on in relation to Brexit,” May told a rowdy question-and-answer session in parliament.
“What we want to do now is to find a way forward that can command the support in this House and deliver on Brexit.”
She specifically did not rule out remaining in a customs union with the European Union — a key Labour demand that she has until now dismissed out of hand.