LONDON _ U.K. opposition Labour Party Leader Jeremy Corbyn has bowed to pressure from his members of Parliament and agreed to support a new Brexit referendum.
Corbyn is a lifelong opponent of Britain's EU membership and has until now resisted attempts to get him to back a fresh vote on leaving the EU _ even though it is the policy the party agreed to last year. But nine lawmakers quit Labour last week in protest at his leadership, and there were reports that others might go unless he changed course.
It seems he's finally caved _in a roundabout way. Corbyn has been gradually shifting his position toward a re-do of Brexit over the past year. First by embracing staying in a customs union, and now this.
"One way or another, we will do everything in our power to prevent no-deal and oppose a damaging Tory Brexit based on Theresa May's overwhelmingly rejected deal," Corbyn was due to tell a meeting of Labour MPs on Monday evening, according to his office.
"That's why, in line with our conference policy, we are committed to also putting forward or supporting an amendment in favor of a public vote to prevent a damaging Tory Brexit being forced on the country."
It's unclear when Labour will get a chance to show this support. There will be votes on Wednesday on the direction of Brexit, but no amendments have been laid yet.
Labour's support doesn't mean that another referendum will happen.
Even if all 246 Labour MPs voted for one _ along with the 65 other opposition MPs who might back one, and around 10 members of May's Conservative party _ they would only just have a majority. In reality, at least 25 Labour MPs would disobey any instruction to vote for a referendum.
A repeat of the referendum will likely only happen if a significant number of Tories back one. That's the idea behind a suggestion by Labour MPs Peter Kyle and Phil Wilson _ that they should offer to vote for May's Brexit deal in exchange for her agreeing to a referendum on it.
May has repeatedly argued against a repeat of the 2016 referendum, saying that it would undermine faith in democracy, and any change of position would outrage her torn party.
However, it will give her ammunition to persuade hard-liners who consider her deal a diluted travesty that they could lose Brexit altogether if they don't back it when it returns to Parliament.
"Jeremy Corbyn is today taking the first step to reunite our party by showing he is listening to our voters and members on this, the biggest issue of our time," said David Lammy, a Labour lawmaker who has been an outspoken advocate of a so-called People's Vote.
Campaigners in the party said they would pressure MPs to back the move and press for the leadership to instruct lawmakers to back a second plebiscite.
"The Labour leadership must campaign for a public vote, and ensure that Labour MPs are whipped to vote for it in Parliament," said Mike Buckley, director of Labour for a People's Vote.
