Civil war breaks out as Labour is crushed
Infighting erupts among senior figures as party is punished for a lack of clarity on its Brexit policy
Political Editor LABOUR descended into a full-blown civil war over Brexit last night as the party was crushed in the European elections.
Jeremy Corbyn’s party was on course to finish third, behind the Brexit Party and the Liberal Democrats, sparking public in-fighting between its most senior figures.
The party had been punished for its ambiguous position on Brexit, senior party figures said, while the Lib Dems and the Brexit Party, which represented Remain and a hard Brexit, were the big winners on the night.
Labour was on course to pick up just 14 per cent of the vote, down 11 percentage points on the last European election in 2014, as voters deserted it for the Lib Dems.
In the most shocking result of the night for Labour, the party lost London to the Lib Dems after its share of the vote slumped by 13 per cent. It even lost to Sir Vince Cable’s party in Mr Corbyn’s own borough of Islington.
Emily Thornberry, the Labour shadow foreign secretary who is tipped to be the next leader, tore into Mr Corbyn’s policy as she said the party was “not clear on the one thing people wanted to hear”.
She argued that the party should have put its weight behind a “confirmatory referendum” on any deal agreed by Parliament. It should then campaign in that ballot to remain in the EU.
With Mr Corbyn, a lifelong Eurosceptic, showing no enthusiasm for a second referendum, the party is set for a damaging struggle over the future of its Brexit policy.
Alastair Campbell, who served in Downing Street as Tony Blair’s communications secretary, disclosed that he had turned his back on the party for the first time in his life and voted Lib Dem because Labour had “let the voters down”.
He agreed that there had been a “protest against Labour for having such an unclear policy”.
Ms Thornberry said: “We’re going to get a kicking.
“The point is we went into an election where the most important issue was our view on leaving the EU, and we were not clear on the one thing people wanted to hear.
“We should have said quite simply that any deal would be put to a confirmatory referendum and Remain would be on the ballot paper and Labour would campaign to remain.” She added: The Lib Dems have done very well tonight. We have lost many votes to the Liberals.
“I have had people on tears on the doorstep saying they are going to vote Lib Dem because we need to sharpen up our message.”
Early results suggested a 13.5 per cent swing from Labour to the Lib Dems. Labour’s vote share in Mr Corbyn’s Islington constituency dropped by 21 per cent, with the Lib Dems increasing vote share by 19 per cent to win by 27.5 per cent to 26.3 per cent.
‘I have been making my views clear... you can see where we wanted to go, it just wasn’t clear enough’
Across London as a whole, Labour’s vote share fell by 13 per cent, and it was down by 11 per cent nationwide.
Ms Thornberry could barely conceal her disdain at her party’s Brexit policy, saying: “I don’t talk about what happens internally in the Labour Party but I have been making my views clear behind the scenes. You can see where we wanted to go, it just wasn’t clear enough.”
In The Observer newspaper yesterday, Tom Watson, Labour’s deputy leader, wrote a scathing assessment of his party’s Brexit policy, saying it left its MPS “braced with a sense of despair”.
He tweeted a link to a survey on his website, asking members how the party should agree a new Brexit policy.
He said: “Following the disastrous EU election results, Labour urgently needs to rethink its Brexit position and realign with members and voters. For Britain’s sake, we must find our voice and fast.”
Reports before the polls closed suggested that the Lib Dems had beaten Labour in Holborn and St Pancras, the constituency of Sir Keir Starmer, the shadow Brexit secretary.
Sir Keir has insisted on a second referendum as party policy, with Mr Corbyn refusing to agree. The gulf between the two men was blamed by the Conservatives for their failure to agree a Brexit deal with Labour during six weeks of cross-party talks.
Labour suffered its worst ever result
in Wales, where the Brexit Party won in 19 out of 22 council areas. Nationwide, vote share was running at 20 per cent for the Lib Dems and 14 for Labour.
In the East of England Labour were beaten into fifth place, behind the Brexit Party, the Lib Dems, the Greens and the Conservatives.
In Chelmsford, part of the East of England area, the Lib Dems came second to the Brexit Party, gaining a 20 per cent share of the vote, with Labour down seven per cent. Labour also came a distant third in the East Midlands, behind the Brexit Party and the Lib Dems.