Prof on May’s Brexit Deal: Little Chance of Getting Her Amended Plan Through

With under fire British Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit plan looking unlikely to be approved in parliament, and many sceptical as to whether departing without a deal would be a good alternative, Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn could finally outline his position on how the UK should proceed.

But would holding a second Brexit referendum actually be feasible and what would be the likely outcome? Sputnik spoke with Alistair Jones; Associate Professor of Politics and Law at De Montfort University Leicester for more…

Sputnik: Will Labour officially endorse a second Brexit referendum?

Alistair Jones: The interesting thing is that Corbyn hasn't fully come out and said that he supports it yet, but sources are saying that he is; until he actually does, I think they're going to stay quiet.

The reason for this is quite simply; if he openly comes out and supports it, when it goes to get debated in parliament, the Conservatives will rise up against him and block it. The votes on any Labour amendment that Corbyn has backed on Brexit have always been defeated, and you can see the Tories and the DUP voting collectively against him, and what he stands for, and they've done the same with the SNP.

READ MORE: British MPs Vote on Brexit Amendments as Article 50 Deadline Approaches (VIDEO)

While the noise is that Labour are going to support this proposed second referendum; if it all goes through, there's a whole lot of ifs and buts before then, starting with the next vote on March the 12th, so as it stands at the minute, the likelihood of a second referendum is slightly greater than it was before, but as to whether or not we would get a different result, that's in the lap of the Gods in all honesty, it's just impossible to forecast.

Sputnik: Will Theresa May's Brexit deal get through parliament?

Alistair Jones: Theresa May has little chance of getting her amended plan through. The amendments are so miniscule and so minor, and the big thing was to be able to renegotiate the Ireland backstop, which is not up for renegotiation. It doesn't matter what platitudes are mouthed by the EU or Theresa May, that is not going to change, she is not going to get her deal through.

The question then is; what happens? No country on this planet operates solely on WTO rules because they are so punitive and so bad for countries' economies, so the idea that we think we can go into that situation and benefit is somewhat inaccurate.

Tariffs are going to be put on so many goods and the lack of access that we will have to so many markets because we don't actually have formal access to them; despite WTO rules, is actually going to be a huge impediment to the British economy.

The views and opinions expressed by the speaker do not necessarily reflect those of Sputnik.