Blow for supporters of people’s vote as party leader reiterates he would negotiate new deal
Jeremy Corbyn has conceded that
Labour might need to seek an extension of article 50 if the party won a snap election, to negotiate a new
Brexit deal.
His statement confirms that his party’s priority is a new deal, rather than a referendum.
He said an election would “break the deadlock” and give the party an opportunity to negotiate Brexit on its own terms, should Labour win the election.
“Any political leader who wants to bring the country together cannot wish away the votes of 17 million who wanted to leave, any more than they can ignore the concerns of the 16 million who voted to remain,” he said, in veiled comments aimed at the campaigning and polling that has suggested the party should prioritise its remain voters and party members.
He said Labour’s own Brexit plan, which included negotiating a customs deal and what the party has described as a “strong single market relationship”, would bring both sides together and allow Labour to enact its manifesto promises.
“The alternative plan that Labour has set out for a sensible Brexit deal that could win broad support is designed to enable us to fulfil those ambitions while respecting the democratic result of the referendum,” Corbyn said.
The remarks will come as a blow for some Labour supporters of a second referendum, who hope that the party would make that a pledge in any future election. Instead, Corbyn said the election of a Labour government would be “a renewed mandate to negotiate a better deal for
Britain”.
The Labour leader also gave cautious endorsement to the prospect of extending article 50, but only in the context of an election. The shadow Brexit secretary, Keir Starmer, suggested on Wednesday that an extension “may well be inevitable now”.
Corbyn said an extension “would be a possibility … because of the practicalities of negotiating”.
He reiterated during the speech in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, that Labour would vote against Theresa May’s deal and that it was inconceivable that a government could remain in power if it could not pass its most important legislation. “A government that cannot get its business through the House of Commons is no government at all,” he said.
Opinion has been divided on the Labour frontbench about the most effective time to call a vote of no confidence in the government, with several shadow cabinet ministers pushing for a vote immediately after a defeat on May’s Brexit deal. Others such as the shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, believe that Labour should try to secure the backing of the Democratic Unionist party to give it the best chance of success.
“Labour will table a motion of no confidence in the government at the moment we judge it to have the best chance of success,” Corbyn said. “Clearly, Labour does not have enough MPs in parliament to win a confidence vote on its own.”
Some around the shadow cabinet table have been wary of a defeat in a confidence vote, because the policy passed by the party’s membership at Labour conference suggested that it should then consider backing a second referendum.
After delivering his speech, Corbyn also rejected an offer from the government for more protections on workers’ rights, as it emerged that the prime minister was prepared to back a Labour backbench amendment promising to enshrine EU rules on workers’ rights. It was tabled by John Mann and has been backed by the former minister Caroline Flint.
Labour sources said they were concerned that the amendment would not have much legal effect. Mann and Flint were among a handful of Labour MPs who have suggested that they might back the prime minister’s deal.
Mann told the Daily Mirror: “It’s very encouraging if government is listening to what the people are saying but also it removes one of Labour’s objections.” Protections for workers’ rights has been one of Labour’s six tests for supporting any Brexit deal.
Corbyn, in his speech, said the referendum held a deep symbolism for voters on both sides, which went far beyond a relationship with Europe.
“The real divide in our country is not between those who voted to remain in the EU and those who voted to leave,” he said. “It is between the many, who do the work, create the wealth and pay taxes, and the few, who set the rules, reap the rewards and so often dodge taxes.”