The UK will take part in European Parliament elections, May's government confirms

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Theresa May

• UK government confirms the country will take part in the upcoming European Parliament elections.
• Theresa May's Deputy, David Lidington says there is no longer time to ratify a Brexit deal in time.
• The elections are due to take place on May 23.
• May had previously committed to preventing the elections taking place.

LONDON - The European Parliament elections will take place in the UK later this month, the government has confirmed.

Theresa May's deputy David Lidington said there was no longer enough time to pass a deal through the UK House of Commons in order to prevent the elections going ahead.

Lidington said in a statement that it was "not going to be possible to finish that process" before the date of the elections.

The statement comes as the prime minister prepares to set out the terms of her Brexit offer to the Labour party.

The prime minister is expected to offer temporary membership of the customs union in an attempt to push Labour into backing a deal which would allow the UK to withdraw from the EU before it is due to take its seats on the European parliament.

However, the reported offer is unlikely to win majority approval from Labour MPs, with many opposed to any deal that does not include the offer of a public referendum.

Shadow Brexit Minister Matthew Pennycook tweeted at the weeken that it was "self-evident" that Labour MPs would not back any deal that did not contain a "confirmatory vote."

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