British politics in confusion as Brexit talks loom
Britain's political crisis deepened Sunday amid party infighting in London and new polls showing bolstered support for Scottish independence, even as European Union, EU leaders seek a quick divorce after a seismic vote to leave the bloc.
Prime Minister, David
Cameron will meet with his cabinet Monday and parliament will reconvene, four
days after the shock Brexit vote which plunged the bloc and global financial
markets into unprecedented turmoil, according to AFP.
Finance minister, George Osborne will make an early morning
speech to try to steady markets, while US Secretary of State John Kerry is due
in London and Brussels for crisis talks and the leaders of Germany, France and
Italy will meet in Berlin.
Three days after Cameron announced his resignation after
losing last Thursday's referendum, opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is
also facing pressure to stand down, with a string of his top team resigning
Sunday.
EU powers have called for a swift divorce amid fears of a
domino effect of exit votes in eurosceptic member states that could imperil the
integrity of the 28-nation alliance.
European Parliament chief Martin Schulz warned Sunday that a
period of limbo would "lead to even more insecurity and thus endanger
jobs" and said a summit of EU leaders Tuesday, which Cameron will attend,
was the "right time" to begin exit proceedings.
But Cameron has said negotiations on Britain's departure
must wait until a successor is chosen from his Conservative party, which could
be as late as October.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who will host French
President Francois Hollande, Italian premier Matteo Renzi and EU President
Donald Tusk on Monday, has said there is "no reason to be nasty in the
negotiations".
On Sunday Hollande and Merkel confirmed they were in
"full agreement on how to handle the situation" French presidency
sources said after a phone call between the two leaders.
Both heads of state "want the greatest clarity to avoid
any uncertainty," and "stressed the need for European initiatives and
the need to act quickly on concrete priorities," one source said.
Kerry meanwhile, during a stopover in Rome on Sunday,
expressed regret at Britain's decision to become the first EU nation to leave
the bloc -- and vowed Washington would maintain close ties with the 28-country
alliance.
"Brexit and the changes that are now being thought through
have to be thought through in the context of the interests and values that bind
us together with the EU," he said.
Boost for Scottish
independence
Britons cast aside warnings of isolation and economic
disaster to vote 52 percent to 48 percent in favour of quitting the EU in
Thursday's referendum.
The vote wiped $2.1 trillion from global equity markets
Friday and sent the pound plunging 10 percent amid fears of a new threat to the
global economy.
All eyes are on market reaction on Monday. British finance
minister Osborne is due to make a statement at 7:00 am (0600 GMT) to steady
nerves in the global financial hub.
The historic vote, fought on the battlefronts of the economy
and immigration, exposed deep divisions in the country, which were particularly
keenly felt in Scotland.
Scotland voted by 62 percent to stay in the EU, and the
prospect of being pulled out against their will has renewed support for a
second independence referendum, less than two years after they chose to stay in
the United Kingdom in a referendum in September 2014.
"The UK that Scotland voted to stay in in 2014 does not
exist any more," First Minister and Scottish National Party leader Nicola
Sturgeon told BBC television Sunday.
Two polls on Sunday put support for Scottish independence at
59 percent and 52 percent respectively. In the 2014 referendum, 55 percent
voted against it.
Sturgeon has said a second independence vote was now
"highly likely", and a meeting of her cabinet on Saturday agreed to
start drawing up the necessary legislation.
Labour revolt
In London, likely candidates to succeed Cameron, including
Brexit campaigner and former London mayor Boris Johnson, began sounding out
support over the weekend.
The referendum decision has also lit a fuse under
disgruntled members of the Labour party, many of whom have been unhappy with
Corbyn's leadership since he took office last September.
The party leadership had campaigned to stay in the EU, but
critics accuse Corbyn of failing to reach out to working-class voters drawn in
by the "Leave" camp's anti-establishment rhetoric.
After a symbolic vote of no confidence was proposed on
Friday against Corbyn, he sacked foreign affairs spokesman Hilary Benn late
Saturday for challenging his leadership.
That decision sparked a string of resignations among members
of the shadow cabinet. By Sunday evening 10 members of Corby's top team had
quit.
But allies of the veteran socialist said he had no plans to
step down.
"He was elected nine months ago, the biggest mandate of
any political leader in our country, and he is not going anywhere,"
Labour's finance spokesman John McDonnell told the BBC.
The motion of no confidence is expected to be discussed at a
meeting of the parliamentary Labour party on Monday.
Any challenger would need the support of 20 percent of the
party's 229 MPs and it would then be put to party members.
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