KHAN POLL RAP
Sadiq Khan accused of hypocrisy after calling for second EU referendum
The Mayor of London was attacked by both Tory and Labour MPs for saying voters should have the 'final say' on the Brexit deal
LABOUR'S London Mayor Sadiq Khan was slammed for hypocrisy and trying to delay Brexit by both Labour and the Tories yesterday after he called for a second referendum on the final deal.
In a Sunday newspaper article he said voters should have the final say on what happens next.
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But the BBC's Marr Show played him an LBC clip of him speaking in July 2016 warning that holding a second referendum would lead to cynicism amongst voters.
Last night Tory party chair Brandon Lewis said: “Labour need to rule out trying to delay Brexit. Across the country, Labour politicians are calling for a referendum rerun that would take us all back to square one.
"Now they have gone further and admitted that they want to keep the UK in the EU beyond March 2019 - almost three years after the country voted to leave.”
Brexiteer Tory Theresa Villiers insisted voters just wanted the Government to get on with the job.
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She told the BBC: "It is so undemocratic to ask people to vote again just because there is an elite establishment that does not like the answer they were given the first time.
"We have to listen to the result of the referendum and implement it."
Mr Khan's Labour colleague Shadow international trade secretary Barry Gardiner also disagreed with him - saying it would only help Theresa May.
He told Sky News's Sophy Ridge on Sunday: "We've said we haven't ruled anything off the table. But actually to have a second referendum would be to throw this Government a lifeline." Mr Khan's intervention is expected to lead to mutiny in the ranks at Labour conference in Liverpool next week.
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Jeremy Corbyn is under pressure to reverse current party policy and push for another referendum.
More than 100 motions have been tabled by unions and party activists for the move.
Mr Khan said: "For the first time the British public should have a say on the outcome of the negotiation.
"It is really important it is not a re-run of the first referendum."
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It came as International Trade Secretary Liam Fox insisted there must be no delay to Brexit in March next year after it emerged Chancellor Philip Hammond floated the prospect of a postponement at the no deal Cabinet on Thursday.
Asked if there was any reason for a delay, Dr Fox told Sky News's Sophy Ridge on Sunday: "I’d say no. As I’ve said before, extending Article 50 until we’ve got an agreement is effectively allowing the European Union to dictate when Britain will leave the European Union itself.
"The public have given us an instruction in the referendum, there has to be a time set for our exit, that’s the 29th March next year and we should honour that."
The Sun Says: Two-faced Khan
SADIQ Khan’s call for a second Brexit referendum shows what a hypocrite he is.
In July 2016, the London mayor claimed “the establishment needs to respect the result” — and that a second referendum would lead to more cynicism among voters.
How strange, then, that he has changed his mind now.
It is the latest abysmal decision Khan has made. He was one of the 36 Labour MPs who nominated Jeremy Corbyn for the leadership ballot.
He also led the virtue-signalling attacks on Donald Trump.
Meanwhile, what has he done about the soaring murder rate in our capital? Nothing, other than to blame the bloodshed on everyone else.
For all his Remainer whining, does Khan think voters will meekly accept the forcing of a second referendum?
And even leaving the likelihood of civil unrest aside, if Leave win again — as seems probable — will he want to make it “Best out of five”?
He should sort London out and stop trying to mess up the country.
Conservative MP Theresa Villiers says that having a second referendum on Brexit would be undemocratic
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