New anti-Brexit party launches in Britain
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London:A new anti-Brexit centrist political party holds its official launch in London Monday, one of several intiatives by pro-European Union campaigners drawing hope from a perceived shift in the British public's mood.
"We aim to reverse Brexit and restore our influential position in Europe, allowing us to focus on what really matters in the UK," the party, called Renew, said on its website ahead of the launch in central London.
The fledgling political party said it already had more than 300 candidates ready to contest the next general election and was aiming to recruit a total of 650 to stand in every constituency in Britain.
The party was founded by former financier Chris Coghlan ahead of last year's general election.
Coghlan stood as an independent candidate in that election, running on an anti-Brexit platform, and came fourth with 1,234 votes in Battersea in south London.
The next elections are not due until 2022 but many commentators believe they could come much earlier because of Prime Minister Theresa May's precarious leadership and feuding inside her Conservative party.
Several campaigns have emerged in recent weeks calling for a re-run of the EU membership referendum and putting pressure on MPs to oppose a Brexit agreement when it comes before parliament as expected this year.
One of them, Best for Britain, captured the headlines this month because of a large donation from billionaire investor and philanthropist George Soros.
Former Labour party politician Andrew Adonis, a member of the House of Lords, has launched his own campaign alongside the youth group "Our Future, Our Choice".APP/AFP