Business Leaders Call on May, Corbyn to Back Second Brexit Vote

More than 170 leading business figures have called for British Prime Minister Theresa May and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn to back a second referendum on withdrawal from the European Union, reported rte.ie

The group, including the world-renowned architect Lord Foster, Nobel Prize winner Sir Paul Nurse and lastminute.com co-founder Baroness Lane-Fox, warned MPs "must not waste any more time on fantasies".

After surviving a confidence vote in the House of Commons yesterday, Mrs May said it was time to "deliver on the referendum" held in 2016.

Several business groups called for MPs to get behind Mrs May's Withdrawal Agreement before it was emphatically rejected in Parliament on Tuesday.

The business figures' letter calls for the leaders of the main parties to back a so-called People's Vote - and ask the public if they still wish to leave the EU.

"Many businesses backed the Prime Minister's Brexit deal despite knowing that it was far from perfect," said the letter published in The Times.

"But it is no longer an option. The priority now is to stop us crashing out of the EU with no deal at all. The only feasible way to do this is by asking the people whether they still want to leave the EU.

"With the clock now ticking rapidly before we are due to quit, politicians must not waste any more time on fantasies. We urge the political leadership of both the main parties to support a People's Vote."

Their intervention comes after a group of 71 Labour MPs and 13 MEPs signed a letter backing a second referendum.

The MPs said if Mr Corbyn's efforts to secure an early general election did not succeed, the party should "unequivocally" back a public vote.

The move intensified pressure on Mr Corbyn to...

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