Labour ‘to honour Brexit vote but reject May’s deal’

DIANE ABBOTT has insisted Labour is “committed to honouring” the Brexit vote despite backbench warnings that it will “damage” the communities they represent.

The Shadow Home Secretary, inset, said her party campaigned in 2016 on “remain and reform” of the EU and pushed for a “jobsfirst Brexit” at the 2017 General Election.

She also outlined her “immaculate record” of voting against measures which enabled further EU integration, as she told the Commons she would not take “lectures” from Home Secretary Sajid Javid.

But Ms Abbott maintained Labour’s opposition to Theresa May’s Brexit deal, claiming it treats issues of safety and security with a “degree of recklessness”.

Her remarks came the day after Environment Secretary Michael Gove called Labour’s Brexit policy “b ****** s”.

And Labour’s Scottish leader, Yorkshire-born Richard Leonard, refused to confirm whether Labour would campaign for or against Brexit in any potential General Election.

In a speech on Thursday, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn called for a General Election “at the earliest opportunity” to “break the deadlock” over Brexit.

Speaking on the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland programme yesterday, Mr Leonard, the Scottish Labour leader, was asked directly about what the party’s stance would be if a General Election was to be called.

Mr Leonard said: “It’s not a matter of campaigning for or against Brexit.

“There has been a referendum in which people overall decided that we should leave the European Union and I have said repeatedly that I think the job of elected politicians is to look at the best way of extracting the best deal under those circumstances. “Our policy on Brexit so far has been to try to secure the best deal. The manifesto of the Labour Party will be decided by the Labour Party and we’ve got a process for determining that.

“My view is that we had a referendum in 2016, our job has been to try to get the best deal.”

In the Commons yesterday, a Labour former Minister said he was close to supporting Theresa May’s Brexit deal.

Jim Fitzpatrick, MP for Poplar and Limehouse, said: “I’m talking myself into supporting the Prime Minister’s deal next Tuesday against no-deal and against further delay.

“I’m not quite there yet but I’m not far away.”