September 20, 2019
On the eve of Labour Conference in Liverpool last year, the conventional wisdom said there was no chance the party would back a second Brexit referendum. I was one of around 200 members who endured a five-hour compositing meeting, just to ensure that a referendum was an ‘option on the table’. Twelve months on, Labour is not only committed to that referendum, the shadow chancellor, shadow foreign secretary and shadow Brexit secretary have all declared they will personally campaign to remain.
Labour Can, And Should, Leave Conference As A Pro-Remain Party
We have come a long way in the last year, but we’re not done yet. 
At this year’s conference, Labour members have an opportunity to clear the final hurdle and secure a commitment that the party will campaign to Remain in all circumstances. Once more the conventional wisdom is that this won’t happen, that Jeremy Corbyn has decided that Labour will be neutral in a referendum and he simply won’t move any further.  However, it is worth remembering that Jeremy Corbyn was very clear during his leadership campaign that it would be Labour members who make party policy.  We are ready to demonstrate how this is done, by force of reasoned argument and a show of strength in Brighton.
It isn’t tenable for the Labour Party to fight the now inevitable General Election with a ‘neutral’ position on the issue that will define the election. If the Leader of the Opposition can’t express a preference for whether the UK should leave or remain in the EU, the campaign will be haunted by it. Imagine the spectre of a TV debate in which every other candidate can express their policy in one word (Leave or Remain) and the leader of the Labour Party cannot. It would be devastating.
Some might argue that the complexity of Brexit demands a more nuanced answer, but we have already seen how the current position unravels under scrutiny. Emily Thornberry is one of the party’s most effective spokespeople, but her recent appearance on Question Time demonstrated how impossible it is to convince people that there is merit in Labour renegotiating a Brexit deal, only to campaign against it.
Jeremy is right that the referendum should be a choice between a ‘credible Leave option’ and Remain, but that credible Leave option already exists – Theresa May’s withdrawal deal. The referendum choice should be simple, but also provide a definitive way to resolve Brexit – a deal approved by the EU, or the chance to Remain.
Not only we do have faith in our ability to win the argument, we know that for the second year in a row, almost all of the motions sent to conference by Labour CLPs share our objectives. Like last year, we’ll have a compositing meeting in which members from all across the country will be able to influence Labour policy, agreeing the text of a motion to be put to a vote on the conference floor. Some of these people will be ‘veterans’ of last year and all involved are a little older and a little wiser than we were in Liverpool.
Last year we made real progress, but the collective stamina of the group failed at the end – meaning that we secured many of the concessions we wanted, but not all. This time, the Labour members elected to represent their CLPs will be willing and able to stay in the compositing meeting for the whole night to ensure that Labour Party policy reflects the wishes of its members – an unequivocal commitment to campaign to Remain in the EU. It may well prove be a test of endurance, but Remain Labour supporters are prepared. We’re ready to change Labour policy and to prove the conventional wisdom wrong on Brexit once again.
Andrew Lewin is founder of Remain LabourRelated... Harriet Harman Urged To Pull Out Of Speaker Race By Local Party What Happens If Boris Johnson Gets A Brexit Deal? Boris Johnson Takes The Hits On Campaign Trail
Related Stories
Latest News
Top news around the world
Academy Awards

‘Oppenheimer’ Reigns at Oscars With Seven Wins, Including Best Picture and Director

Get the latest news about the 2024 Oscars, including nominations, winners, predictions and red carpet fashion at 96th Academy Awards

Around the World

Celebrity News

> Latest News in Media

Watch It
Olivia Munn Reveals Breast Cancer Diagnosis and Double Mastectomy Procedure | E! News
March 13, 2024
kUaEV1Kd3S0
Travis Kelce Shares Details From His Trip to Singapore With Taylor Swift | E! News
March 13, 2024
3YXi-Dgf4eg
Kate Middleton VIRAL Photo: Agency Addresses Photoshop Claims | E! News
March 13, 2024
S4VkO0TpkCY
Da'Vine Joy Randolph Plays 'Smash or Pass' With Iconic Moments From Her Career
March 13, 2024
vkPdJEF2BX4
Jean Smart Wears a Hotel Bathrobe to Present an Award to Hannah Einbinder l Power of Comedy SxSW
March 12, 2024
Bw7uVEYQev4
Lenny Kravitz Walk of Fame Ceremony
March 12, 2024
MlWq8BcnwhE
Dak Prescott Extortion Plot & Steph Curry for President? | TMZ Sports Full Ep - 3/12/24
March 13, 2024
jHFsrjs7OFY
A Japanese space rocket blew up after takeoff Tuesday, turning the sky into a fireball of smoke.
March 13, 2024
YkfJ3Qg8B7c
#KimKardashian and #BiancaCensori hung out at #KanyeWest's listening party Tuesday night!
March 13, 2024
EfwLLq6bx9k
‘Pioneer Woman’ Ree Drummond denies using Ozempic to lose 60 pounds
March 13, 2024
Omfjk1AlZ3A
Chrissy Teigen reveals her ‘boob lift scars’ in daring dress at Jay-Z & Beyoncé’s Oscars 2024 party
March 13, 2024
VxZ2qXAlpmU
Zoë Kravitz pokes fun at dad Lenny Kravitz's style during Hollywood Walk of Fame speech
March 13, 2024
j3-lcFu_1sQ
TV Schedule
Late Night Show
Watch the latest shows of U.S. top comedians

Sports

Latest sport results, news, videos, interviews and comments
Latest Events
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Atletico Madrid - Barcelona
17
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Manchester United - Liverpool
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Inter Milan - Napoli
17
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
Borussia Dortmund - Eintracht Frankfurt
17
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Chelsea - Leicester City
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Roma - Sassuolo
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Verona - AC Milan
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Juventus - Genoa
17
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
SC Freiburg - Bayer Leverkusen
17
Mar
USA: Major League Soccer
Atlanta United - Orlando City
17
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
West Ham United - Aston Villa
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Rayo Vallecano - Real Betis
17
Mar
ENGLAND: Championship
Leeds - Millwall
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Las Palmas - Almeria
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Villarreal - Valencia
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Sevilla - Celta Vigo
16
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
Darmstadt - Bayern Munich
16
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Manchester City - Newcastle United
16
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Fulham - Tottenham Hotspur
16
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Osasuna - Real Madrid
13
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Atletico Madrid - Inter Milan
12
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Barcelona - Napoli
12
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Arsenal - Porto
11
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Chelsea - Newcastle United
10
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Liverpool - Manchester City
10
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Real Madrid - Celta Vigo
10
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Aston Villa - Tottenham Hotspur
10
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Juventus - Atalanta
10
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Fiorentina - Roma
10
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
AC Milan - Empoli
09
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
Werder Bremen - Borussia Dortmund
09
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Arsenal - Brentford
09
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Bologna - Inter Milan
Find us on Instagram
at @feedimo to stay up to date with the latest.
Featured Video You Might Like
zWJ3MxW_HWA L1eLanNeZKg i1XRgbyUtOo -g9Qziqbif8 0vmRhiLHE2U JFCZUoa6MYE UfN5PCF5EUo 2PV55f3-UAg W3y9zuI_F64 -7qCxIccihU pQ9gcOoH9R8 g5MRDEXRk4k
Copyright © 2020 Feedimo. All Rights Reserved.