Labour heavyweights go toe-to-toe over second referendum
THE split at the top of the Labour Party over Brexit widened yesterday after Sir Keir Starmer refused to rule out keeping the UK in the EU, as his colleague Emily Thornberry said such a move would be “anti-democratic”.
Labour’s stance on leaving the European Union was thrown into sharp focus when delegates at the party conference in Liverpool voted overwhelmingly for a second referendum if a general election was not called.
Jeremy Corbyn had promised to respect the will of his party, meaning he would also back a second vote.
In television interviews Mr Corbyn repeatedly declined to rule out stopping Brexit, despite previously pledging to respect the will of the people.
Asked three times if “Brexit will happen on March 29”, he said: “At the moment it looks like it,” as he hinted that Article 50, the legal process to take Britain out, could be extended. That is not in our hands,” he said. “Article 50 can only be extended by the agreement of the entirety of the European Union.”
It came after Sir Keir, his Brexit secretary, gave a speech in which he appeared to add in a key paragraph tying the party to the idea of remaining inside the union despite the Brexit vote.
He told conference delegates: “It’s right that Parliament has 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.”
The passage won loud applause in the conference centre despite claims that the party was seeking favour with both pro and anti Brexit supporters in a bid to win the next election.
The added wording, which went further than the party had previously been willing to in terms of a commitment to reversing the decision to leave, was not in the transcript of the speech sent to journalists. Mr Corbyn insisted the speech had been cleared beforehand, despite the missing section.
Sir Keir is reported to want to keep the UK close to the EU and is sympathetic to a second vote that would include an option to stop Brexit altogether.
Second referendum campaigners claimed a “victory” after the speech but his decision to go further was talked down by Mr Corbyn in interviews last night, after Len Mccluskey, one of the party’s most powerful union backers, said the Remain option should not be on the ballot paper.
The Labour leader told Sky News: “A speech isn’t policy. A speech is a speech. A policy is the motion which is carried and the motion says we will hold the Government to account against the six tests.”
He declined to rule out voting for Remain if the option was included in a second referendum.
He added the party “will challenge this Government” with its six Brexit tests. “If they don’t meet them, then we will vote against them,” he said.
“The Government will then have to go back to the European Union and continue negotiations, or they might choose to resign and have a general election so the people of this country can decide who they want to conduct these negotiations.”
But in a sign that the party had not resolved its own position on Brexit, the shadow foreign secretary appeared to give a different view just hours later.
Emily Thornberry said the party should try to delay the process, as “we cannot leave in the current circumstances”. Speaking at a fringe event, she said plans should be set out in the Labour manifesto for the next general election: “Our manifesto should say we will abide by the result of the referendum but we can’t obviously leave in the current circumstances.” She added: “We need to extend Article 50 and essentially turn up in Europe and say ‘the grown-ups have turned up now’.”
Branding as undemocratic those who want the decision reversed, she said: “There are deeply anti-democratic forces around the world and in Britain, too. I am not going to be part of that.
“We had a referendum. I went up and down the country and I said to people: ‘This is really serious; you have to make a decision and we will abide by the decision.’ We said that, we said that solemnly, and we stick to it.”
It put her at odds with Mr Corbyn and Sir Keir on the key Brexit day for Labour at its annual meeting. More than 100 constituency parties tabled motions calling for a second referendum, and thousands of People’s Vote supporters marched through Liverpool to pile pressure on Mr Corbyn.
The final motion put to delegates did not commit Labour to a referendum, and made clear its preferred option was for an early general election. But Sir Keir told the conference that if Labour could not secure an election it should have other options. “That must include campaigning for a public vote.” Eloise Todd, of the Best For Britain campaign for a second referendum, said: “Today is a game-changer for the campaign to give the people the final say on Brexit. This has left the door open to Labour backing a people’s vote on Brexit, reflecting what the vast majority of Labour members and voters want and a majority in the country want.” But there were signs of dissent within the party. Brendan Chilton, of the Labour Leave group, described Sir Keir’s comments as “a betrayal of the very highest order”, which would cost Labour seats.
“Many people will wonder whether Sir Keir is trying to line himself up as the Remain replacement for Jeremy,” he said. Gareth Snell MP called Sir Keir’s “unilateral declaration” of a Remain option disappointing. “While members rejoice, we must not forget the voters we need to win over,” said the MP for Stoke-on-trent Central.
At a fringe event Sir Keir said he did not know if Brexit would be delayed if the Government’s plans were voted down or if an election put Labour into power. “I don’t know whether Article 50 will be extended or not,” he said. “I do know we are running out of time.”
‘There are deeply antidemocratic forces around the world and in Britain too’