U.K.'s Corbyn Seeks Common Brexit Approach With Tory Lawmakers

(Bloomberg) -- Jeremy Corbyn met Wednesday with rank-and-file Conservative lawmakers who support a soft Brexit in an attempt to forge a common approach, a person familiar with the matter said.

The meeting between the opposition Labour Party leader and the former Tory ministers Oliver Letwin and Nick Boles lasted about 75 minutes and was positive and detailed, according to the person, who asked not to be named talking about a private meeting.

The outreach suggests Corbyn is trying to find a majority in Parliament for his vision of Brexit so that he can push it if Prime Minister Theresa May is defeated in a crunch vote next week on her negotiated deal. The Labour leader wants to keep the U.K. in a customs union with the European Union and closely aligned with single market rules. Boles and Letwin, for their part, support a Norway-style agreement that keeps Britain in the Single Market but with more limited customs arrangements.

Labour last month shifted its position, indicating the party could support a second referendum. Corbyn’s overtures to the Tory backbenchers suggest the veteran politician -- a long-standing euroskeptic who backed Remain in the 2016 referendum -- is still trying to find a way to leave the bloc and respect the result of the plebiscite.

To contact the reporter on this story: Alex Morales in London at amorales2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Robert Jameson

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