LABOUR is set to decide on its position on Brexit for next month’s European elections today.
Pressure has been mounting on leader Jeremy Corbyn to commit the party to a People’s Vote on whatever deal emerges from Labour’s ongoing talks with the Tories.
The party’s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) is gathering today to finalise its Brexit policies.
Ahead of the meeting, Labour MPs Peter Kyle and Phil Wilson wrote to Corbyn and all NEC members urging them to ensure a confirmatory ballot is in the party’s manifesto.
Wilson said a referendum was backed by the majority of Labour MPs, MEPs, members and supporters, and had been featured in the policy approved by conference last year.
He added Labour MPs have now twice been whipped in the Commons to support a motion tabled by the pair to require a People’s Vote on any deal.
“Three years on, we know more about what Brexit means and people should be allowed to compare what the deal is with what they were promised and decide whether they want to go ahead,” Wilson said.
“If we don’t do it, the coming years will be divisive because people will be turning round and saying ‘hang on, I didn’t vote for this’.”
The Love Socialism, Hate Brexit group organised a letter to NEC members, which was signed by some 115 of the party’s MPs and MEPs, urging them to explicitly back a second referendum in the manifesto.
But the party remains split over the idea of a People’s Vote.
Tensions rose publicly yesterday as deputy Labour leader Tom Watson took to Twitter to urge supporters to lobby NEC members and demand a fresh Brexit vote.
Some 22 Labour candidates in the European elections have already pledged to campaign for a second referendum and then push to remain in the EU. And TSSA transport union general secretary Manuel Cortes said the party needed to make a decision. He said: “Frankly, it’s time for our party to act on the overwhelming wishes of its members and voters by pledging to support a confirmatory public vote on any Brexit deal,” he told reporters.
“We will be pushing hard for this to be included in Labour’s European manifesto.”
But fellow NEC member Claudia Webbe hit out at Watson over his post, tweeting: “Tom, this is divisive, our number one priority should be for a democratic socialist Labour government to deliver a sustained & irreversible shift in wealth & power in the UK.
Supporting Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour Party to achieve this to kick out the Tories should be your focus.”
And, speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, MP Stephen Kinnock agreed that promising a referendum could be “divisive”.
He said: “I think it would be divisive, not decisive. You could well end up with a narrow victory for Remain.
“I think this would lead very rapidly to campaigning for ‘best out of three’.”
Meanwhile, Tories have been hoping the European elections will be avoided altogether.
The UK Government wants a compromise deal to get through Parliament ahead of polling day on May 23 which would allow the UK to skip out on the election.
Tories fear that with Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party riding high in the polls, the election could result in a mauling for Theresa May.
Time is running short for the Withdrawal Agreement to pass in another “meaningful vote” and get through both the Commons and Lords.
May’s spokesman indicated that the PM wants to complete ratification before bringing the parliamentary session to an end.
“What we are focused on is the Withdrawal Agreement Bill, because that is the legislation which is necessary in order to ratify our withdrawal from the EU,” he said. “That is part of the current Queen’s Speech cycle and we need to finish that work.”
The Queen’s Speech is normally an annual event, but a two-year session was announced in 2017 to allow time for Brexit legislation to be passed.
Now, the parliamentary set-piece outlining the legislative agenda could be postponed from the expected date in June to the autumn.
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