LONDON: Britain’s Brexit drama entered a dramatic overtime period on Wednesday, as Prime Minister Theresa May and the country’s main opposition sought a compromise deal to prevent an abrupt British departure from the European Union at the end of next week.

In an about-face that left pro-Brexit members of May’s Conservative Party howling with outrage, May sought to forge an agreement with left-wing Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn after failing three times to win Parliament’s backing for her Brexit deal.

May also said she would ask the EU for a further delay to Britain’s departure date postponed once already to avert a chaotic and economically damaging no-deal Brexit on April 12.

“The country needs a solution, the country deserves a solution, and that’s what I’m working to find,” May told lawmakers before meeting with Corbyn for about two hours.

Afterwards, both the Conservatives and Labour called the meeting “constructive” and said their teams would hold more in-depth talks on Thursday.

May’s dramatic shift left her caught between angry Conservatives who accuse her of throwing away Brexit, and Labour opponents mistrustful of her sudden change of heart.

Labour lawmaker Paul Sweeney said May’s outreach to his party “shows the desperation that she’s in”. He said May wanted Labour “to bail her out of a position she’s dug herself in”. May’s pivot infuriated pro-Brexit Conservatives, who were seeking ways to stymie her plans. Two junior ministers quit, and other lawmakers angrily accused May of putting the socialist Corbyn in the Brexit driver’s seat.

“A no deal on 12 April at midnight looks more and more likely,” European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said Wednesday, adding that would bring disruption for EU citizens and businesses, but much worse economic damage for Britain.

EU Economy Commissioner Pierre Moscovici said a “no-deal” Brexit would mean long lines at borders and paperwork headaches for customs checks on the 11,000 vehicles entering and leaving Britain each day.

“I prefer strict controls at the price of a few lines of trucks to a health crisis or illegal trafficking,” he said. “The security of Europeans will be our top priority.”

May’s pivot towards Labour points Britain towards a softer Brexit than the one she has championed since British voters decided in June 2016 to leave the EU. Labour wants the UK to remain in the EU’s customs union a trading area that sets common tariffs on goods coming into the bloc while allowing free trade in goods moving between member states.

Published in Dawn, April 4th, 2019