A ’Remain alliance’ pact that would see
Labour stand aside for rival parties in some areas is backed by the overwhelming majority of its pro-EU supporters.
According to a poll by the grassroots pro-EU group Remain Labour, 97% of the party’s members and backers support
Jeremy Corbyn making a deal with parties like the Lib Dems and SNP should
Boris Johnson trigger a snap general
election this autumn.
Such a pact would involve Labour standing candidates down in constituencies where the Lib Dems, SNP, Greens of Plaid Cymru have a better chance of defeating the Tory or
Brexit Party candidate.
An equally large majority of the group - 95% - said if rebel Tories were not prepared to install Corbyn as caretaker prime minister in an anti- no-deal Brexit national unity government, Labour MPs should put aside tribal loyalty and throw their weight behind someone else, such as Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson or Conservative Remain stalwart Ken Clarke.
Andrew Lewin, founder of the Remain Labour campaign group said the “emphatic result” of the poll - which surveyed 1,000 members and supporters - showed the party’s rank and file wanted Corbyn to put “the national interest first” in order to avoid no-deal.
He said: “They expect the party leadership to do everything possible to stop a no-deal Brexit and are willing to form alliances with smaller parties to try to ensure the next parliament has a Remain majority.
“If a Remain alliance is going to succeed in a snap general election, the Labour Party has to lead it.
“If the pro-Remain parties fail to work together, the only winners will be Johnson and Farage. The losers will be the poorest and most vulnerable in our society, who will be hardest hit by Brexit.”The chances of the
UK crashing out of the
European Union without a deal on October 31 have increased dramatically since Johnson was crowned PM.
The government has ramped up no-deal preparations and Johnson, who was in
Berlin to meet German Chancellor
Angela Merkel on Wednesday, remains at loggerheads with EU leaders over the Northern
Irish customs backstop.
But while a pro-Remain alliance is favoured by Swinson and leaders of other small parties, there is little prospect it would get off the ground because Corbyn is likely to pledge at the next election that he will negotiate a “Labour Brexit deal”.
Corbyn has backed holding a second
referendum should Labour win the next general election.
As it stands, Labour is pledging to negotiate a fresh Brexit deal and could ask its voters to get behind that in any new plebiscite - a strategy which is dividing the leadership.
Shadow cabinet figures, including Tom Watson, Diane Abbott, John McDonnell and Emily Thornberry, have broken ranks to reveal they would campaign for Remain over any Labour Brexit deal.
It is also unclear whether Johnson will plump for a snap general election pre-Brexit, with much depending on last-minute talks with Brussels.
If new attempts at a renegotiation fail, however, and the country is headed for a no-deal Brexit, Corbyn has said he will table a vote of no-confidence in Johnson, which may force his hand. Related... What The Brecon By-Election Means For Brexit, Boris Johnson And A Snap Election Chuka Umunna Joining The Lib Dems Is Another Step Down The Path To Political Realignment Labour Split As Diane Abbott Confirms She Will Back Remain