Sunday, December 27, 2020
Labour enabling the Tories again
The one enduring trend of the last four and a half years is the willingness of the Labour Party to prop up the Tories in their pursuit of Brexit, even to the extent that Keir Starmer is prepared to abandon the six tests he laid down in March 2017, and vote for Boris Johnson's deal anyway, even though the 1200 word document fails every one of them.
It is little wonder that the Labour Leader is facing a revolt from Labour frontbenchers over his decision to back the government’s Brexit trade deal.
The Guardian reports Starmer has been warned that shadow ministers are poised to resign and defy a three-line whip when the House of Commons votes on the deal on Wednesday:
Labour MPs had urged Starmer to abstain in the vote, saying he would be unable to hold the government to account for its economic consequences if Labour had supported it.
Others, including some of those who refused to vote to trigger the article 50 process of leaving the EU, would like Labour to vote against.
Sources confirmed that several frontbenchers are preparing to step down over the vote, while many others will support Starmer’s position while wishing he would abstain.
“We seem to be making a stand over a Conservative project. It is deeply uncomfortable for some MPs,” said one source.
Shadow cabinet members – including the shadow chancellor, Anneliese Dodds, the shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, Bridget Phillipson, and the shadow international trade secretary, Emily Thornberry – are known to have expressed concerns about the idea of supporting the deal, though they are expected to abide by collective responsibility.
Those who may stand down are believed to be shadow junior ministers, not from the shadow cabinet.
Dodds tweeted on Thursday that the agreement would have a “major negative impact” on GDP and pointed out that it would not have the “exact same benefits” as EU membership – a promise that Starmer included as one of his “six tests” of Theresa May’s deal when he was the shadow Brexit secretary.
Starmer argues that his position is in the national interest, despite the deal being far inferior to the one we have at present, yet he and his party must bear some responsibility for that inadequacy.
It is little wonder that the Labour Leader is facing a revolt from Labour frontbenchers over his decision to back the government’s Brexit trade deal.
The Guardian reports Starmer has been warned that shadow ministers are poised to resign and defy a three-line whip when the House of Commons votes on the deal on Wednesday:
Labour MPs had urged Starmer to abstain in the vote, saying he would be unable to hold the government to account for its economic consequences if Labour had supported it.
Others, including some of those who refused to vote to trigger the article 50 process of leaving the EU, would like Labour to vote against.
Sources confirmed that several frontbenchers are preparing to step down over the vote, while many others will support Starmer’s position while wishing he would abstain.
“We seem to be making a stand over a Conservative project. It is deeply uncomfortable for some MPs,” said one source.
Shadow cabinet members – including the shadow chancellor, Anneliese Dodds, the shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, Bridget Phillipson, and the shadow international trade secretary, Emily Thornberry – are known to have expressed concerns about the idea of supporting the deal, though they are expected to abide by collective responsibility.
Those who may stand down are believed to be shadow junior ministers, not from the shadow cabinet.
Dodds tweeted on Thursday that the agreement would have a “major negative impact” on GDP and pointed out that it would not have the “exact same benefits” as EU membership – a promise that Starmer included as one of his “six tests” of Theresa May’s deal when he was the shadow Brexit secretary.
Starmer argues that his position is in the national interest, despite the deal being far inferior to the one we have at present, yet he and his party must bear some responsibility for that inadequacy.
Throughout the whole four and a half years, including the referendum itself, Labour have sat on the sidelines and refused to do their job of scrutinising and opposing the government. They have been Tory-enablers and the rest of us are having to pay the price.
