Monday, September 24, 2018
Labour fail to commit to a people's vote on Brexit
The media spin is that Labour have taken a major step towards another referendum on Brexit but the reality is that the party's position has not changed and remains as confused as ever.
As the BBC reports, the composite motion that will be put before Labour conference delegates in fact asks them to vote on keeping "all options on the table" on Brexit, including possibly campaigning for a new referendum.
The party's leadership still want a general election allowing Labour to take control of negotiations if it won and this motion accommodates that viewpoint. Furthermore, Shadow chancellor John McDonnell told the BBC he thought any referendum vote should be on the terms of a Brexit deal rather than an option to stay in the EU:
He said that Labour would continue to respect the 2016 referendum in which people voted by 51.9% to 48.1% for the UK to leave the European Union.
And he said a general election was needed so a Labour government could strike a Brexit deal with the EU which "brings the country together".
Key delegates - including shadow Brexit secretary Keir Starmer and leading figures from some trade unions - decided the text at a meeting which lasted several hours on Sunday evening.
The final draft for the vote says: "If we cannot get a general election, Labour must support all options remaining on the table, including campaigning for a public vote."
This is a complete cop-out once more by Corbyn and the Labour Party, who are still clinging to the fantasy that it is possible to leave the EU and have a deal comparable to the current arrangement. The European leaders have already made it clear that is not possible.
Even worse, if it does come to a further plebiscite, they do not want to give us the option of accepting the reality that the Brexiteers position has been a fantasy all along and that we would therefore wish to remain in the EU.
This conference vote will leave only the Liberal Democrats campaigning for a meaningful people's vote and an exit from Brexit, whilst Labour continue to give succour to the Tories.
As the BBC reports, the composite motion that will be put before Labour conference delegates in fact asks them to vote on keeping "all options on the table" on Brexit, including possibly campaigning for a new referendum.
The party's leadership still want a general election allowing Labour to take control of negotiations if it won and this motion accommodates that viewpoint. Furthermore, Shadow chancellor John McDonnell told the BBC he thought any referendum vote should be on the terms of a Brexit deal rather than an option to stay in the EU:
He said that Labour would continue to respect the 2016 referendum in which people voted by 51.9% to 48.1% for the UK to leave the European Union.
And he said a general election was needed so a Labour government could strike a Brexit deal with the EU which "brings the country together".
Key delegates - including shadow Brexit secretary Keir Starmer and leading figures from some trade unions - decided the text at a meeting which lasted several hours on Sunday evening.
The final draft for the vote says: "If we cannot get a general election, Labour must support all options remaining on the table, including campaigning for a public vote."
This is a complete cop-out once more by Corbyn and the Labour Party, who are still clinging to the fantasy that it is possible to leave the EU and have a deal comparable to the current arrangement. The European leaders have already made it clear that is not possible.
Even worse, if it does come to a further plebiscite, they do not want to give us the option of accepting the reality that the Brexiteers position has been a fantasy all along and that we would therefore wish to remain in the EU.
This conference vote will leave only the Liberal Democrats campaigning for a meaningful people's vote and an exit from Brexit, whilst Labour continue to give succour to the Tories.
