Corbyn on
collision course with Labour members over Brexit
Leader in
bid to stop pro-remain stance at election, but members force vote on issue
Rowena
Mason, Heather Stewart and Rajeev Syal
Sun 22 Sep
2019 20.32 BSTLast modified on Mon 23 Sep 2019 01.35 BST
Jeremy
Corbyn is on a collision course with Labour’s membership after he attempted to
stop the party campaigning to remain in the EU at a general election.
Before a
crucial vote on Monday on whether the party should explicitly back remain in
any election, Labour’s autumn conference descended into factional rows over its
Brexit policy, with rebellious MPs privately threatening another leadership
challenge.
Corbyn
moved to stamp his authority on Labour’s Brexit position by proposing a delay
to deciding how the party should campaign at a second referendum.
His
proposal to put off the decision until after an election was endorsed by the
national executive committee, by 16 votes to 10, after members were asked to
send their agreement by email and without a meeting.
“The NEC believes it is right that the party
shall only decide how to campaign in such a referendum – through a one-day
special conference, following the election of a Labour government,” the
statement said.
However,
pro-EU activists fought during a lengthy meeting on Sunday night to ensure
there would be a vote on the conference floor on Monday on whether Labour
should immediately adopt an unequivocally remain position.
More than
50 local parties swung behind a pro-remain motion, while eight backed a more
neutral motion closer to the leadership’s position. Both options will now be
voted on by delegates, along with the official national executive position,
leaving open the possibility that competing motions could pass and cause
further confusion over the party’s Brexit policy.
The
pro-remain motion reads: “Labour must reflect the overwhelming view of its
members and votes, who want to stay in the EU. Labour will therefore campaign
energetically for a public vote and to stay in the EU in that referendum, while
recognising the rights of those members who want to argue another view.”
Those close
to the leadership had hoped that Corbyn’s clear statement of his position would
put pressure on supportive delegates to agree a Brexit policy motion that does
not contradict his view. However, party activists at the “compositing” meeting
on Sunday night showed their appetite for defying the leadership over the issue
of Brexit, with the aim of forcing a remain stance into the next election
manifesto.
Corbyn
explained he was in favour of negotiating a Labour Brexit deal before letting
the party decide how it would campaign in a second referendum in an interview
on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show.
When asked
if it was in Britain’s long-term interests to remain in the EU, the Labour
leader suggested a Labour Brexit deal could be preferable in some circumstances:
“It depends on the agreement you have with the European Union outside.”
The new
position caused a fresh revolt among several shadow ministers and pro-remain
activists, adding to the febrile mood at the Brighton conference following an
abortive attempt by Jon Lansman, the Momentum chair, to abolish Tom Watson’s
job as deputy leader and the resignation of Corbyn’s key policy aide, Andrew
Fisher.
Clive
Lewis, a shadow Treasury minister and supporter of Corbyn, said the leadership
had been “hijacked” and was taking power away from members.
Emily
Thornberry, the shadow foreign secretary, also made clear her unhappiness with
the position, saying Labour risked getting stuck in a “crusher” between leave
and remain with the “walls coming in” unless it picks a side before an
election. She said a new direction in favour of remain needed to be decided by
activists at this conference, not in a future one after an election.
Another
shadow cabinet minister involved in election campaign planning told the Guardian
that his position has changed and he now believes Labour needs to campaign to
remain, because of the risk of voters moving to a revitalised Lib Dem party.
Many of
Corbyn’s allies on the left also believe the party needs to take pick a side on
Brexit before the election. Laura Parker, Momentum’s national coordinator, said
Corbyn must decide on Labour’s Brexit this week, not after a general election.
“We have to
decide at this conference. The one we have come to, the one we have travelled
across the country to come to, not at some putative further conference which is
presumably in the mythical land with that fucking table with all our options on
it,” she said.
The issue
has been causing serious tensions within Corbyn’s own team. It is understood
Fisher, who resigned citing a lack of “professionalism, competence and human
decency” in the Labour leader’s team, has been arguing that the party’s policy
of trying to appeal to both sides over Brexit was no longer working and was
electorally problematic.
He tweeted
several supportive policy statements on Sunday, indicating he was still backing
Corbyn’s project overall and sources confirmed he would stay on to write the
manifesto at the next election.
Ahead of
Monday’s debate, pro-remain activists were increasingly hopeful that their
motion would pass, potentially with the help of some trade unions. The
collective union position is the same as Corbyn’s stance, but senior union
sources said Unison was considering breaking ranks.
Michael
Chessum, of Another Europe is Possible, said his group had been “utterly
determined” to take a remain position to conference floor and urged delegates
not to see it as a test of loyalty to Corbyn.
“There will
be an attempt to turn this into a loyalty test. But those proposing these
motions are by and large people, like me, who have spent years fighting for the
left inside Labour and backing Corbyn,” he said.
However,
Len McCluskey, the general secretary of Unite, said it would be a “loyalty
test” as he said any shadow cabinet ministers openly advocating a pro-remain
position should get behind the leadership or “step aside”.
The second
day of conference was dominated by the row over Brexit, but many anti-Corbyn
MPs were also exercised by the move earlier in the week to abolish Watson’s
post as deputy leader. This was abandoned on Saturday after an intervention
from Corbyn, but MPs on the centrist wing of the party were up in arms about
the move against him.
Several
suggested on their WhatsApp group that Watson should challenge Corbyn for the
leadership or lead a public split of Labour MPs, regardless of the country
potentially being very close to a general election.
Watson is
understood to have dismissed the idea that this was time for a breakaway but
the deputy leader arrived at the party’s conference earlier than expected in
order to fight any further attempts on his position.
Two shadow
cabinet ministers told the Guardian they believed the bid to oust Watson was
related to concerns within the Labour leadership about Corbyn’s position if he
were to lose an election and stand down, with the deputy leader potentially
becoming the most powerful elected person in the party.
Watson was
among those on the NEC who declined to support the statement on Brexit, which
is also expected to be put to a vote on the conference floor.
Watson
said: “I have no doubt that Jeremy’s supporters on the NEC will endorse any
statement he proposes. However, without the NEC having met to debate over it,
we risk giving an imperfect document to conference, and the document not being
given the weight it deserves by delegates.”
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