Corbyn defeats bid by activists to campaign for remain at election
Jeremy Corbyn has seen off an attempt by grassroots activists to force Labour to adopt an out-and-out remain position before a general election.
Amid chaotic scenes at Labour’s annual conference in Brighton, delegates rejected a motion, hammered out in a late-night meeting on Sunday, that would have seen Labour pledge to campaign for remain.
Corbyn has made clear that he would prefer to defer the decision about which side Labour will take in a referendum, until after a general election.
He said on Sunday, “we would put both views and say look, this is the best deal we could get; this is the remain and hopefully reform option. These are the choices before you.”
His approach, as set out in a statement from the national executive committee (NEC), was agreed on the conference floor with a show of hands as “composite 13”, calling for a remain stance, was defeated.
A string of speakers throughout the debate at Labour’s annual conference in Brighton urged their colleagues to fall in behind Corbyn’s stance.
With just months, or perhaps even weeks to go before a general election, there were fears that a show of disunity would harm the Labour leadership.
When the remain motion fell after a show of hands, many stood and cheered, and broke into a chorus of “Oh, Jeremy Corbyn”.
The chair, Wendy Nichols, initially appeared to say the motion had been carried but then said it had been lost, after a conversation with Labour general secretary Jennie Formby, who was sitting alongside her on the conference stage.
Nichols then rejected calls for a full card-vote, which would have led to a more forensic count of delegates’ votes.
Labour’s conference has been rocked by a series of rows, which kicked off on Friday night with a botched bid to abolish Tom Watson’s post of deputy leader.
Watson will give his own speech on Tuesday. According to extracts released in advance, he will urge colleagues to “draw a line under” the controversy.
“Turning in on ourselves is a gift to the Tories. I didn’t choose the row going into this vital week for our party and our country, I didn’t want it, I didn’t seek it and I regret it. It was damaging, divisive and unnecessary. Unfortunately we cannot pretend it didn’t happen. But let us now draw a line under it.”
He will urge his party to look to the future, and take on Boris Johnson and the Conservatives in the coming election.
“Now, of all times, we cannot let the Tories escape scrutiny. Labour must be together. This is a time to keep our gaze high. To remember who we are, and what we believe, and what we’re trying
to achieve. Social justice, equality and opportunity for everyone in our country.
The shadow home secretary, Diane Abbott, said the result of Monday’s vote showed that Corbyn still commands the loyalty of grassroots members. “The party is determined to unite behind its leader,” she said.
Frontbenchers including Emily Thornberry and Clive Lewis have called for their party to declare its allegiance before a general election.
Lewis said after Monday’s votes, “I think there will be huge disappointment amongst activists, members and many voters who were looking for a definitive outcome at this conference. But we know that the vast majority of MPs, the vast majority of the shadow cabinet, the Scottish party and the Welsh party will be campaigning for remain.”
However, Labour strategists feared adopting an out-and-out remain position in advance of a general election would jeopardise their chances of holding on to scores of leave constituencies.
The shadow Brexit secretary, Keir Starmer, whose speech wound up the debate, did not explicitly call on Labour members to support the remain motion.
“We need to ask the public whether they are prepared to leave with the best deal that can be secured. Or whether they wouldn’t rather remain in the EU. The people must have the final say.
“A referendum in which remain should, and will, be on the ballot paper, along with the best leave deal that can be secured. We owe it to those who want to leave to secure that leave deal and put it to them in a referendum.
Starmer was at the late-night meeting on Sunday that resulted in two motions being drafted. Only the one which closely echoed the NEC’s statement was passed.
Speaking afterwards, Starmer told a fringe meeting that he had “mixed feelings” about the idea of Corbyn staying neutral in an election and argued that the Labour membership was so overwhelmingly pro-remain that it’s “obvious the way this is going to end up”.
Earlier, Momentum founder Jon Lansman had urged members to vote with their conscience, complaining that the NEC, of which he is a member, had not had the opportunity to scrutinise the wording of the statement properly.
“There was no meeting, no discussion, no consultation with the membership,” he said.
Disappointed remain campaigners pointed out that Labour in Wales and Scotland has already adopted an antiBrexit stance – and key members of the frontbench are on their side.
Michael Chessum, of anti-Brexit campaign group Another Europe is Possible, said, “a fudge is not a unity position. It is deeply divisive among members, and risks losing a large chunk of our voter base.”
“This vote was set up as a loyalty test, but those grassroots activists who ran the campaign – Momentum activists, people who have fought for the left in Labour for years, know this is a nonsense. We have come so far in pushing Labour’s position towards a public vote, and while we might all be disappointed by this outcome, we must now prepare for the election. If Labour loses, the consequences will be dire.”
Some exasperated remainers claimed the conference hall had been packed by Momentum, in order to ensure the vote was won.
But a shadow minister close to Corbyn said members had put their loyalty to the leader first, saying: “This is Jeremy’s party.”
Several senior Labour figures responded to the vote by suggesting they would make clear to voters that they will campaign for remain, whatever the party’s formal position at a general election.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said, “I do not believe this decision reflects the views of the overwhelming majority of Labour members.”
Other opposition parties immediately seized on Labour’s decision to continue to try to appeal to both leavers and remainers in a general election.
Stephen Gethins, the Scottish National Party’s Brexit spokesman, said, “Jeremy Corbyn is stuck firmly on the fence, refusing to come down and today’s votes show the rest of the Labour party is happy to stay there. This is a real abdication of leadership.
“It beggars belief that more than three years after the EU referendum, and knowing the damage Brexit will do, Labour is still arguing over its position.”