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Theresa May Urges Corbyn to Agree to Brexit Deal in Op-Ed

Theresa May Urges Corbyn to Agree to Brexit Deal in Op-Ed

(Bloomberg) -- Theresa May, writing in the Mail on Sunday, made a direct plea to Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn to agree to a cross-party Brexit deal following local elections that saw both the Conservative and Labour parties lose support.

“Let’s listen to what the voters said in the local elections and put our differences aside for a moment. Let’s do a deal,” May said in her op-ed, addressing Corbyn.

Her plea comes days after the Conservatives were hammered in local elections in England -- the reverse was the worst by a Tory government since John Major’s administration in the 1990s. Cross-party talks are set to resume Tuesday to try to hash out a way forward for the U.K.’s divorce from the EU.

Earlier, the Sunday Times reported May will offer Corbyn three major concessions to force MPs to back a new deal. The concessions will include a comprehensive but temporary customs arrangement with the EU lasting until the next general election, the Times said, citing a source involved in the talks. Other concessions will address goods alignment and workers’ rights.

If May and Corbyn do reach an agreement and try to impose it on the House of Commons, a sizable group of lawmakers has pledged to vote against it unless there’s a guarantee to take it to a public vote.

According to lobby group People’s Vote, 100 Conservative backbenchers are on the record saying they’d oppose such a deal, while Labour frontbenchers including Shadow Brexit Secretary Keir Starmer and Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry have stated they would not back a customs union Brexit.

To contact the reporter on this story: Polina Noskova in New York at pnoskova@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Chakradhar Adusumilli at cadusumilli@bloomberg.net, James Ludden

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