Corbyn scrambles to contain rebellion over second referendum
A MAJOR rift between Jeremy Corbyn and Sir Keir Starmer opened up over Brexit last night, as the Labour leader was accused of abandoning the party’s pledge on a second referendum.
Mr Corbyn was yesterday scrambling to contain a growing rebellion over his Brexit stance, after he wrote to the Prime Minister setting out terms in which he would support her deal.
In a letter sent to No10 on Wednesday evening, Mr Corbyn laid down five conditions which, if satisfied, could lead to Labour offering its formal backing for the Withdrawal Agreement.
While it called for a customs union, Remain-backing MPS fear it represents a significant softening of Labour’s red lines and effectively rules out a second vote, which was not mentioned.
The letter also failed to mention the six Brexit tests laid out by Sir Keir, which state that Labour will not support any deal that fails to deliver the “exact same benefits” of the single market and customs union.
The omission has exposed the growing fault lines in the shadow cabinet, with allies of Mr Corbyn increasingly at odds with those wanting a referendum.
Those tensions were at risk of boiling over yesterday, as Sir Keir insisted the letter did “not take the option of a public vote off the table” and his allies moved to reassure MPS that the party’s six tests would “still definitely apply”. Hours beforehand, Matthew Pennycook, his Brexit deputy, broke ranks to claim that Labour “must move to support a public vote” if Mrs May did not cede to the demands.
However, a senior shadow cabinet minister shot down the suggestion last night, saying: “That’s not our position. If it [Mrs May’s deal] is rejected then the sequencing would be first to put on the table the alternative deal laid out in Jeremy’s letter.”
Another said: “We had a referendum; a decision was taken. We need to recognise that the country was split by finding a way of Brexiting that protects jobs but is not an extreme cliff-edge.
“What we can’t have is an attempt to move the leadership from its stated position. It’s not up to members of the front bench to try and shake the tree.”
Hitting back, a senior party insider said Mr Corbyn’s team were attempting to put forward “other options” over a second referendum, adding: “They clearly do not want to get to that point.”
They also warned of a growing divide between the party leadership and Labour members, who overwhelming back a second vote.
More than a dozen Labour MPS who back a referendum rounded on Mr Corbyn yesterday, including his former leadership rival Owen Smith, who said he was considering his future in the party, and Chuka Umunna, who said the letter was “totally demoralising”.
In an attempt to quell the uprising, Mr Corbyn’s office last night circulated a message to MPS insisting his letter builds on Labour’s policy and that a public vote remained on the table.