EU leaders push for second Brexit vote with almost unanimous backing

"We would like the almost impossible to happen, that the UK has another referendum," Maltese's PM tells BBC radio

There is “almost unanimous” backing among European Union leaders for Britain to hold another referendum on Brexit, Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said on Thursday.  “We would like the almost impossible to happen, that the UK has another referendum,” Muscat told BBC radio.

“I think most of us would welcome a situation where there is the possibility of the British people putting things into perspective, seeing what has been negotiated, seeing the options, and then deciding once and for all.” Muscat’s stance was reiterated by Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis, who said he would support Britain holding another vote on EU membership.

Babis added he had been “shocked” by Britons’ June 2016 decision to leave the bloc — now scheduled to happen in March next year — which has added to Europe’s growing list of problems. “I’m very unhappy that (the) UK is leaving so it would be better maybe to make another referendum and maybe the people in the meantime could change their view,” he told the BBC. “Because then we will solve the problem quite quickly.”  Six months ahead of Britain’s planned EU departure, calls have been growing for a second referendum — backed by an expanding list of centrist politicians.