Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer, Hammond, said Friday that the idea of holding a second referendum on Britain's withdrawal from Europe is likely to be submitted to Parliament at some point, although the government still opposes any new referendum.
Hammond said he hoped Parliament would adopt an agreement by the end of June to break the deadlock on withdrawal from Europe and possibly end calls for a new referendum, and that negotiations with the opposition Labour Party were "very likely" to make a breakthrough.
"I am still optimistic that we will have an agreement in the coming months," he told reporters. He is attending a meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington.
However, the possibility of holding a second referendum on withdrawal from Europe cannot be ruled out.
"This proposal may, and from all the evidence, probably be submitted to Parliament at some stage," Hammond said.
He pointed out that although the government opposed a new referendum, it was still willing to discuss other Labour demands, such as the establishment of a customs union with the European Union.
Hammond said any new referendum could take six months to organize, so if Parliament votes within a few months and regards a referendum as a condition for ratifying the withdrawal agreement, there will not be enough time before Britain withdraws from Europe on October 31.
"This issue (the second referendum) is ultimately still closely related to the parliament, the number of parliamentary votes, and the position of the Labour Party, because the Labour Party itself has serious differences on this matter, and at some point, the party will have to decide which side to stand on," Hammond said.
Parliament has previously rejected the idea of holding a new referendum and other possible ways to break the deadlock.
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