Comments by UK PM spokesman, James Slack
- Negotiations with Labour party are an ongoing process
- Focused on achieving 30 June Brexit date
- May has not set firm deadline for talks with Labour to reach an agreement
- Key thing is to find a way forward that can command a majority in parliament
May's extension request to 30 June is basically killing two birds with one stone. The first is that it makes her not look like the one having to seek a long extension to accommodate any second referendum. The second is that it puts pressure on Corbyn to agree to a Brexit compromise before 10 April or risk being accused of wanting to trap the UK beyond 30 June for a much longer period of time.
If you think about the timing of her letter (which actually did not need to be sent until next week), she's basically dragging Corbyn down with her if they can't come to an agreement on how to break the Brexit deadlock.
