Labour officially calls for Brexit to be delayed with Article 50 extension

Opposition breaks new ground by urging government to seek a ‘temporary extension’ because of ongoing stalemate

Labour has called for Brexit to be delayed, because Theresa May has run out of time to pass her deal before departure day in just seven weeks.

Emily Thornberry, the shadow foreign secretary – standing in for Jeremy Corbyn – said no one could “seriously think” the prime minister was about to get the concessions from the EU she is seeking.

“Does she not agree that the sensible, cautious thing to do at this late stage is to seek a temporary extension of Article 50 so we have time to see if the negotiations succeed or, if they do not, to pursue a different plan?” she told the Commons.

Until now, Labour has said only that it believed an Article 50 extension was increasingly inevitable – while leaving it to the government to make the difficult first move.

But Ms Thornberry told Caninet Office minister David Lidington it was clear that the prime minister would fail to “get anything different” from her fresh talks in Brussels, starting tomorrow.

“None of them have given us any encouragement that they are willing to reopen the withdrawal agreement,” she said, while the UK refused to drop its “red lines”.

In response, Mr Lidington said delaying Brexit would “simply defer the need” for MPs on all sides of the Commons to “face up to difficult decisions”.

Ms Thornberry also sought a guarantee that the fresh Commons votes on the Brexit options promised by Ms May would take place.

Earlier, there were rumours that the government might try to wriggle out of the commitment – amid fears it would open up another opportunity for parliament to “take control”.

Mr Lidington insisted the prime minister had been “completely clear” that the votes would be on 14 February, if it was too soon to stage a second ‘meaningful vote’ on the deal by that date.

After the EU’s refusal to renegotiate the withdrawal agreement, it appears certain the “legally binding” changes Ms May is seeking cannot be agreed by next week.

Ms Thornberry said the answer was “staring the government in the face”, which was to accept Labour’s call for a permanent customs union, something the Commons would support.

“Plan A has been resoundingly rejected by parliament, plan B was ruled out by the EU months ago and the government is in danger of sleepwalking the country towards leaving with no plan and no deal at all,” she warned.

“So, with just over 50 days to go, can I give the minister a final opportunity to tell us whether there is a better plan than this or for goodness sake will he let parliament take charge instead?”

Ms May’s official spokesman said afterwards: “The very clear position of the prime minister is that there will not be an extension of Article 50.”