Brexit talks between Labour and Tories break down over customs union disagreement

Quelle fucking surprise

Cross-party Brexit talks between the Tories and Labour have reportedly broken down due to a lack of willingness to compromise from the government. After weeks of Brexit deadlock, with Theresa May's withdrawal agreement failing to win a majority in the House of Commons twice and once more without its political declaration, with not one single motion managing to muster a majority in a series of indicative votes, the government and opposition engaged in talks to try to end this stalemate. It's almost as if there is not one single version of Leave that people voted for. But unsurprisingly, little to no progress has been made after Labour claimed the government refused to "offer real change". The opposition were handed a four page document by the government detailing how they would compromise in order to make progress, but government ministers reportedly refused to commit to a customs union. Labour wanted a customs union, “dynamic alignment” on workers’ rights and for access to the single market, the Conservatives did not. And here we are again: a government committed to honouring the 'will of the people' but utterly unwilling to make it happen if it involves compromise of any sort with the elected representatives of those people. Talks broke down before a second referendum was even mentioned, according to the Mirror.  A Labour spokesperson said: “We are disappointed that the government has not offered real change or compromise. “We urge the Prime Minister to come forward with genuine changes to her deal in an effort to find an alternative that can win support in Parliament and bring the country together.” Theresa May has also written to European Commission President Donald Tusk to request another extension. The prime minister also said in the letter that if talks with Labour don't lead to a "single unified approach soon", she will attempt to establish a "consensus" on options on a future relationship that could be put to the Commons. Because that has worked brilliantly so far. She wrote: "The Government stands ready to abide by the decision of the House, if the Opposition will commit to doing the same."