Monday, May 01, 2017
Labour split on second Brexit referendum
It has long been the position of the Liberal Democrats that the final Brexit deal, if we have one, should be put to the British people in a second referendum so that they can judge whether it is what they opted for last year. Now it seems that we are not alone in this belief.
According to the Independent they have now been joined by two senior Labour MPs. They say that Labour’s Clive Lewis and Rachael Maskell have called for a second referendum on the final terms of the UK’s exit from the European Union, putting themselves directly at odds with the party leadership:
Mr Lewis, who is seen as a potential future leader, and who voted against holding the general election, wrote in a joint article with the shadow Environment Secretary in The Guardian that holding a second referendum would heal divisions.
“We understand why the Labour frontbench does not want to commit to [a second vote] now,” they wrote.
“That destination is only now beginning to appear on the horizon. It’s one in which we are likely to endure severe economic consequences for leaving the single market with no EU trade agreement, while we pursue a pumped-up free-market alternative with Donald Trump. How many leave voters envisaged that?
“So giving the British people a chance to ‘seal the deal’ with a vote on the final terms of the Brexit negotiations is not asking the same question twice. How can it be? We stand on the precipice of a new and vastly changed political and economic reality. If they really believe their own rhetoric, even Tory Brexiteers should welcome a chance to put their Brexit before the people and get their support.”
At least somebody within the Labour Party is able to see the issues clearly. It is a shame the leadership is not amongst them.
According to the Independent they have now been joined by two senior Labour MPs. They say that Labour’s Clive Lewis and Rachael Maskell have called for a second referendum on the final terms of the UK’s exit from the European Union, putting themselves directly at odds with the party leadership:
Mr Lewis, who is seen as a potential future leader, and who voted against holding the general election, wrote in a joint article with the shadow Environment Secretary in The Guardian that holding a second referendum would heal divisions.
“We understand why the Labour frontbench does not want to commit to [a second vote] now,” they wrote.
“That destination is only now beginning to appear on the horizon. It’s one in which we are likely to endure severe economic consequences for leaving the single market with no EU trade agreement, while we pursue a pumped-up free-market alternative with Donald Trump. How many leave voters envisaged that?
“So giving the British people a chance to ‘seal the deal’ with a vote on the final terms of the Brexit negotiations is not asking the same question twice. How can it be? We stand on the precipice of a new and vastly changed political and economic reality. If they really believe their own rhetoric, even Tory Brexiteers should welcome a chance to put their Brexit before the people and get their support.”
At least somebody within the Labour Party is able to see the issues clearly. It is a shame the leadership is not amongst them.
