The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Confusion leads party to seek to clarity on Brexit
Activists issue open-ended statement in attempt to defuse delegates’ anger
Labour has tried to clarify its position on Brexit after another day of division at the party’s conference.
Activists agreed an open-ended statement that calls for “a tariff and impediment-free relationship” with the EU but falls short of backing single market membership.
The conference has been dominated by leaders refusing to commit to staying in the free trade area – despite two-thirds of the members supporting the principle.
The 11th-hour statement, drawn up by Labour’s National Executive Committee, was waved through by a show of hands in the main conference hall yesterday.
It came as the Labour leadership sought to calm the fury of pro-EU MPs who say they have been blocked from holding a meaningful vote on Brexit during the conference.
A vote by local parties and affiliated groups rejected the chance of a potentially awkward debate on issues like whether the UK should stay in the single market after Brexit, instead choosing to debate topics such as growth and investment, housing and the NHS.
Shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer told conference Labour could keep the UK in a form of customs union with the EU and negotiate a new single market relationship after withdrawal.
Labour wants a deal that retains the benefits of the customs union and the single market and will not take any options off the table, he said, but the NEC statement said only that Labour wants “a tariff and impediment-free relationship with the European Union” and that the precise institutional form of the new trading relationship “needs to be determined by negotiation”.
The statement repeated the leadership’s position that Labour “accepts and respects” the outcome of last year’s referendum.
It confirmed that the party wants a “time-limited” transition period after the March 2019 date of Brexit during which Britain would remain in the single market and customs union, but did not spell out its preferred arrangements for the longer term.
Shadow Cabinet Office minister Jon Trickett said a vote on the party’s Brexit statement allowed delegates to show “maximum unity” by endorsing the policy.
Shadow chancellor John McDonnell was forced to deny the leadership was seeking to quash debate on Brexit.
Mr McDonnell said he believed the decision not to prioritise Brexit for debate was motivated by “a feeling that there needs to be a bit more consensusbuilding, rather than dividing the party at the moment”.