While holding a second vote has been ruled out by May, many have thrown their weight behind another vote on our EU status. Here's the latest.
Will there be a second referendum?
While a number of politicians and celebrities have added their voice to growing calls for a second referendum this has always been rejected by Downing Street.
In November 2018, Jo Johnson resigned as rail minister and said the deal was "substantially worse" than staying in the EU, and it was "imperative we go back to the people and check" they still want to leave.
Upon resigning, Johnson demanded a second referendum.
His decision to resign came after the failure of Brexit negotiations to achieve what had been promised.
In September 2018 the mayor of Manchester Andy Burnham backed a second Brexit vote if there was a no-deal scenario – but warned it could trigger social unrest.
Theresa May's official spokesman has said: "The British people have voted to leave the EU and there is not going to be a second referendum under any circumstances."
It could depend on how Brits perceive Parliamentary squabbles over Mrs May's Chequers deal.
Labour has been in a muddle over the issue too — with the leadership refusing to commit to a call for a second vote despite cries from centrist MPs and members.
A sizeable section in the party want a second referendum and pressure is mounting on the left-wing leader.
The GMB, one of the UK's biggest trade unions, called for a vote on the final Brexit deal.
Later in September 2018, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan dramatically called for another EU referendum — saying that people must be given the opportunity to reject Brexit.
The Mayor of London, who is an avowed remainer, argued Britain is facing either a bad deal or “no deal” which he says will hit jobs and living standards.
Referring to the worst case scenerios, Mr Khan said: “They are both incredibly risky and I don’t believe Theresa May has the mandate to gamble so flagrantly with the British economy and people’s livelihoods.”
Shortly after Jo Johnson's resignation, Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez called for a second Brexit referendum accusing the UK government of “self absorption.”
He told Politico: “If I was Theresa May, I would call a second referendum — no doubt.”
Sanchez said that Britain leaving the European Union was “a great loss for both.”
He added: “I hope it can be reconsidered in the future”.
A number of EU leaders parroted their support for a second referendum at the end of September.
Another big bump for the support for a Brexit referendum came after May brought her draft withdrawal agreement to cabinet. It passed, but prompted multiple resignations, including from Dominic Raab, Suella Braverman, Shailesh Vara and Esther McVey.
It is unlikely the divorce deal will make it through parliament, so supporters of a second vote may seek to capitalise on this.
What is Labour's position?
Labour's official position is that it would vote against any deal struck by Theresa May with the aim of pushing for a General Election.
Shadow Brexit secretary Keir Starmer said that a motion on the highly divisive question that has dominated the event in Liverpool "doesn't rule out Remain".
He told Labour's party conference: "We want a General Election to sweep away this failed government."
After the People's Vote rally in central London Keir Starmer reaffirmed the party have also not ruled out calling for a second Brexit referendum if they couldn't force and election.
Speaking on the BBC's Andrew Marr, he said: “If there’s no deal brought back or the deal is voted down, then other options are on the table, one of which is a public vote.
“And in that public vote no options are ruled out, including the option of remain.”
What are the odds of a second Brexit referendum?
Timeline in the build-up of pressure for a second referendum
- January 2018 The former Ukip leader Nigel Farage said on Channel5’s The Wright Stuff he was considering calling for a second referendum as a way to kill off the topic once and for all.
- March 2018 Leave.EU was fined £70,000 for failing to declare “at least” £77,380 it had spent on campaigning.
- April 2018 The campaign group People’s Vote was started with Labour MP Chuka Umunna at its head, along with three other members of parliament and the actor Patrick Stewart.
- July 2018 Theresa May's cabinet agrees her latest Brexit strategy, known as the Chequers Plan.
- July 2018 The Electoral Commission fined the Vote Leave campaign group £61,000 after it said it had broken electoral law by exceeding its spending limit.
- July 2018 Shadow Brexit Secretary Sir Keir Starmer said Labour should back a second vote on EU membership if MPs rejected Theresa May’s final deal with Brussels.
- September 2018 Tony Blair, in an interview with Euronews, said the government's Brexit proposal was "doomed to fail". He warned May's proposal was "the worst of both worlds and will satisfy nobody."
- September 2018 Former Education Secretary Justine Greening said Chequers Brexit plan was “more unpopular than the poll tax”.
- September 2018 Sadiq Khan called for another EU referendum because he believes the people must be given the chance to reject Brexit.
- September 2018 Leaders of Czech Republic and Malta call on Theresa May to commit to a second referendum at a summit in Salzburg.
- September 2018 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn says his party is open to the idea of a second referendum and said that his party would be prepared to vote down Theresa May's final deal if it "didn't meet their tests".
- September 2018 Party bosses have hinted they'll back a second referendum – but Jeremy Corbyn's closest ally, John McDonnell, has ruled out keeping Britain in the EU
- October 2018 The People's Vote march in London takes place with around 700,000 demanding a final say on the Brexit deal.
- November 2018 A poll finds that the majority of voters in areas held by Labour seats would support a second referendum.
- November 2018 May's Brexit draft passes cabinet, only to be met with an unfriendly house, and multiple resignations from ministers and key government officers
What have polls indicated?
A poll carried out by NatCen and The UK in Changing Europe revealed 59 per cent of voters would now vote to remain in the EU, while 41 per cent would opt to leave.
The author of the poll John Curtice urged caution over the finding.
He said the interview panel was skewed towards remain, and that some of the shift was among those who did not take part in the original Brexit referendum.
On November 2 2018, it was reported that the majority of voters in all seats held by Labour support a second referendum on Brexit.
The findings were according to an analysis released by the People’s Vote campaign from a YouGov poll of 26,000 people.
How would the vote work?
A second referendum will not happen quickly and the first stage is for there to be an Act of Parliament.
That will require the backing of a majority of MPs and it took seven months before Parliament signed off the previous referendum legislation in 2015.
Last time around there was a four-month period between the then Prime Minister David Cameron announcing the referendum in February 2016, and the vote taking place on 23 June.
But the Electoral Commission has said in future there should be at least a six-month gap allow enough time to register campaigns and put counting officers in place.
There is also the question of what to do about Article 50.
Britain could vote to remain in the EU, but have already left by the time the vote was held.
This could be avoided if the EU agreed to extend the Article 50 deadline – but that would need to be unanimously agreed by all EU member states.
Then there is the question of what to put on the ballot paper.
If there are three questions for example accept a negotiated Brexit deal, stay in the EU, or leave with no deal then just 34 per cent could decide the winning option.
When was the first EU referendum?
The first referendum on EU membership took place in 1975.
Two-thirds of voters (67.23 per cent) backed the continued membership of the European Economic Community, which the UK had joined only two years before.
Under Harold Wilson's leadership, the Labour Party was trying to present to the public a different version of EEC membership to get a better deal.
The EEC was integrated into the European Union after it was created in 1993.
In the summer of 2016, Britain voted to leave the EU after 17.4million people backed Leave compared to 16.1million Remain voters.
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