Labour lawmakers ‘ready’ to rescue May’s Brexit deal
Opposition party’s MPs revealed that at least 15 Corbyn and back the government, which could be enough to tip the balance in the Commons in favour of the deal
LONDON: Multiple Labour MPS have told The Independent they are prepared to support the Brexit agreement Theresa May hopes to bring back from brussels, boo sting the prime minister’s chances of forcing it through parliament.
The MPS include the irst to state publicly that they will struggle to vote against a deal secured in Brussels if the alternative is a no-deal Brexit – even if, as expected, Jeremy Corbyn orders his party to oppose it.
They say that crashing out of the EU would be a disaster for their constituents, while also fearing a backlash from voters accusing them of blocking Brexit.
It comes as May appears resigned to having to rely on Labour votes to secure parliament’s support for her deal in the face of staunch opposition from many of her own Eurosceptic backbenchers.
Labour MPS told The Independent that at least 15 could rebel against Corbyn and back the government, which could be enough to tip the balance in the Commons in favour of the deal.
One prepared to go public, Gareth Snell, MP for Stoke Central, said: “If the deal is some sort of customs union, protection of the unity of the union and looking at a future trade deal, it would be very hard to justify why we’re not supporting that.”
Ruth Smeeth, Stoke North MP, said: “If the option is voting for the deal or voting for something that would mean no deal – well, I’m not prepared to vote for no-deal.”
Don Valley MP Caroline Flint said: “I believe if there is a reasonable deal that stops us crashing out with no deal, we shouldn’t rule it out.”
Speaking to Sky News’ Sophy Ridge on Sunday, Flint added: “The problem is, we are now — those of us who want to get a deal — are sometimes stuck between a rock and a hard place between hardline Brexiteers who think we can waltz off without a deal and some hardline Remainers who, for their own reasons don’t want a deal because they want to overturn the referendum results.”
Asked about speculation around 30 Labour MPS would be prepared to vote for a deal if it meant defying the whip, she said: “I’m really not sure, but I think if a reasonable deal is on the table the question for some of my Labour colleagues is ‘why wouldn’t you support a deal, why would you stand along (with) Boris Johnson or Jacob Rees-mogg who want us to crash out without a deal?”