Staying in EU an option: Labour
LONDON : If a new referendum were held after the British Parliament votes against the final Brexit deal negotiated by the Theresa May government, remaining in the EU will be an option, the opposition Labour Party declared on Tuesday.
The withdrawal agreement is to be put to vote in Parliament before March 29, 2019, when the United Kingdom is due to leave the European Union, but much ground remains to covered before any agreement is reached.
Labour’s annual conference in Liverpool saw the party abandoning its hitherto “constructive ambiguity” over Brexit, declaring that in all likelihood, it would vote against the withdrawal agreement, which could lead to either a mid-term election or another referendum.
In London, Prime Minister Theresa May’s cabinet reached an “in-principle” agreement to treat EU and non-EU citizens alike after Brexit for purposes of migration, following the advice tendered last week by the influential Migration Advisory Committee.
At the Labour conference, shadow Brexit secretary Keir Starmer got immediate applause when he said: “If a general election is not possible then other options must be kept open. That includes campaigning for a public vote.
“It is right for Parliament to have the first say but if we need to break the impasse, our options must include campaigning for a public vote and nobody is ruling out Remain as an option,” he told party delegates, a majority of whom are said to be in favour of remaining in the EU.
Labour’s position on the vote on the withdrawal agreement is based on it meeting the party’s six tests outlined in 2017. The tests include the UK continuing to benefit from the single market and the customs union, which seems unrealisable.
The six tests are: 1. Does it (the withdrawal agreement) ensure a strong and collaborative future relationship with the EU? 2. Does it deliver the “exact same benefits” as we currently have as members of the single market and customs union? 3. Does it ensure the fair management of migration in the interests of the economy and communities? 4. Does it defend rights and protections and prevent a race to the bottom? 5. Does it protect national security and our capacity to tackle cross-border crime? 6. Does it deliver for all regions and nations of the UK?
Another period of political instability is inevitable given the near impossibility of any agreement meeting Labour’s tests. Negotiations so far have reached an impasse as London and Brussels hold on to their entrenched positions on key elements of Brexit.