Greater Manchester mayor calls for second referendum because chances of no deal now so high

Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, has given qualified backing to a second referendum on Brexit while warning it risks sparking unrest on the streets of the city.

Speaking before a speech in Westminster, Burnham called for the Brexit process to be postponed because the chances of crashing out of the European Union without a deal were so high.

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He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I have real concerns about a second vote. It would cause real unrest on the streets of Greater Manchester … But there is something worse than having another vote and that is crashing out of the European Union without a deal.

“So as a last resort, when everything else has failed, when we have tried to extend article 50 to get more time, then and only then should we consider holding a second vote.”

Burham, a former Labour cabinet minister, backed remain in the referendum but has been reluctant until now to intervene in the Brexit debate since the vote.

He said: “We are now looking seriously at crashing out of the European Union, according to the government’s own analysis that would result in a double-digit hit on the greater Manchester economy.”

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He said the only consensus in the UK over Brexit was that most people oppose leaving the bloc with no deal.

“I’m hearing voices across Greater Manchester saying to me: ‘We just cannot sit here now and let this happen.’”

He added: “Public services are increasingly worried. Greater Manchester police tell me they’ve no idea what the arrangements [are] for cooperation with police forces around Europe. We even had the Brexit secretary talking up the idea of no deal in the Commons yesterday – that’s the time to get very worried.

“What we have got to do is open our eyes to what is unfolding here and that is that no deal is quickly becoming the frontrunner, the most likely option. We cannot let that happen.”

In his speech, Burham will say: “This isn’t about frustrating Brexit” but instead about “getting Brexit right”.

He will also call for a cross-party approach to preventing a no-deal scenario. “As soon as it becomes clear that the MPs against a no-deal outcome cannot unite around a plan, I would urge all Greater Manchester MPs to support a call on the EU for an extension of article 50 beyond the March deadline as the next way of stopping no deal,” he will say.

“If that fails and we are left on the cliff-edge of no deal with no other options, then and only then would I endorse the call for a people’s vote on the proposed no-deal departure and encourage our MPs to do the same.

A Department for Exiting the European Union spokesman said: “As the prime minister has made clear, we are leaving the EU on 29 March 2019. We have made good progress on the withdrawal agreement. Most issues have been resolved, including citizens’ rights and the financial settlement.

“As a result of the significant progress made in negotiations, we remain confident we will agree a mutually advantageous deal with the EU.”