Theresa May to seek further talks with EU on Brexit

British Prime Minister Theresa May will go back to the EU in an attempt to salvage her Brexit deal, which was voted down by the UK’s parliament last week.

The deal was defeated in the House of Commons by 432 votes to 202, just months before the UK’s planed exit from the EU on 29 March. Speaking after surviving a vote of no confidence in the government, which was tabled by the Opposition following the vote, May said she would seek talks with all stakeholders on a way forward.

May told parliament on Monday that she would first have further discussions with Northern Ireland’s DUP about the Irish backstop, before “taking the conclusions of these discussions back to the EU”.

In her statement, May said the government would be scrapping a proposed £65 fee EU citizens living in the UK were going to have to pay in order to secure the right to continue living in the country after Brexit. May told MPs she had listened to the concerns of EU citizens, with Opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn welcoming the move.

May again dismissed calls for a second referendum, insisting that the government’s duty was to implement the decision of the first one.

"I fear a second referendum would set a difficult precedent that could have significant implications for how we handle referendums in this country.

"Not least, strengthening the hand of those campaigning to break-up our United Kingdom.

"It would require an extension of Article 50. We would very likely have to return a new set of MEPs to the European Parliament in May.

"And I also believe that there has not yet been enough recognition of the way that a second referendum could damage social cohesion by undermining faith in our democracy."

Corbyn however accused her of being in “deep denial” about the extent to which MPs and the nation opposed her deal. He said that Labour would back an amendment next week that would rule out the possibility of a no-deal Brexit.