The UK would be welcomed back into the EU if it changed its mind about Brexit, Donald Tusk has said.
He also quoted the Brexit Secretary David Davis, who famously said in 2012: “If a democracy cannot change its mind, it ceases to be a democracy”.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Tusk’s comments were welcomed by those Labour and Lib Dem MPs who want a referendum on the final Brexit deal. Last week, former Ukip leader Nigel Farage, and the party’s main financial backer Arron Banks, added their voices to the growing call for a second vote. Farage said a second referendum was necessary to “kill the debate for a generation” and claimed people would vote to leave the EU in greater numbers than did in 2016.
Both Downing Street and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn have repeatedly ruled out another vote on the EU, however.
Richard Rice, the co-chair of pro-Brexit group Leave Means Leave, told the BBC Brussels had a history of not listening to the views of others and said the decision to leave the EU will not be reversed “despite the best efforts” of those in power.
A similar point was made by arch-Brexiteer and Tory MEP Daniel Hannan, who said on Twitter: “If Tusk and Jean-Claude Junker truly wanted Britain to stay in the EU, they’d propose a looser arrangement. Their refusal to contemplate such things explains why we’re leaving”.
-
Jasveen Sangha and the ketamine 'Wild West' of HollywoodIn The Spotlight Arrest of the 'ketamine queen' accused of supplying Friends star Matthew Perry with deadly dose has turned spotlight on a showbiz drug problem
-
Confessions of a Brain Surgeon: an 'exceptional' documentaryThe Week Recommends Retired neurosurgeon Henry Marsh reflects on his pioneering work with exquisitely 'raw honesty'
-
A new subtype of diabetes was found and it may require different treatmentUnder the radar It is prevalent in Black Africans and Americans
-
How China uses 'dark fleets' to circumvent trade sanctionsThe Explainer The fleets are used to smuggle goods like oil and fish
-
One year after mass protests, why are Kenyans taking to the streets again?today's big question More than 60 protesters died during demonstrations in 2024
-
Nationalist wins tight Polish presidential electionspeed read Karol Nawrocki beat Rafal Trzaskowski in Poland's presidential runoff election
-
On VE Day, is Europe alone once again?Today's Big Question Donald Trump's rebranding of commemoration as 'Victory Day for World War Two' underlines breakdown of post-war transatlantic alliance
-
What happens if tensions between India and Pakistan boil over?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As the two nuclear-armed neighbors rattle their sabers in the wake of a terrorist attack on the contested Kashmir region, experts worry that the worst might be yet to come
-
Why Russia removed the Taliban's terrorist designationThe Explainer Russia had designated the Taliban as a terrorist group over 20 years ago
-
Inside the Israel-Turkey geopolitical dance across SyriaTHE EXPLAINER As Syria struggles in the wake of the Assad regime's collapse, its neighbors are carefully coordinating to avoid potential military confrontations
-
'Like a sound from hell': Serbia and sonic weaponsThe Explainer Half a million people sign petition alleging Serbian police used an illegal 'sound cannon' to disrupt anti-government protests
