Politicians should be able to vote as they wish to thwart Brexit — former PM Major

LONDON: Former British prime minister John Major said on Wednesday politicians should be able to vote freely to reject any deal negotiated with the European Union, warning the current plans are “to inflict economic self-harm on the British people.”
Major, who campaigned to stay in the EU, said it must be parliament, not the government, that makes the final decision on any new deal with the EU, and that there is an argument for a second referendum on any such deal.
Any vote on the final Brexit deal is of such national importance that members of parliament should be allowed to vote according to their consciences, he said.
“I know the instinct of every government is to oppose ‘free votes’ but the government should weigh the advantages of having one very carefully. It may be in their interest to do so,” Major said in a speech in central London.
“This must be a decisive vote, in which parliament can accept or reject the final outcome or send the negotiators back to seek improvements, or order a referendum.”
Opponents of Brexit are trying to garner enough support in the lower house of parliament, the House of Commons, to block any possible withdrawal deal May brings back from Brussels in October.
Blocking any deal the government manages to clinch with the EU could plunge British politics into crisis with uncertain consequences for Brexit, for the world’s sixth largest economy, and for the fate of London, the only global financial hub to rival New York.