Labour rejects call for party to commit to second Brexit referendum

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was facing pressure to shift the party's stance on a second referendum
PA
Ella Wills|Megan White30 April 2019
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Labour's ruling body has rejected calls to commit the party to a confirmatory referendum on any Brexit deal.

The party's manifesto for next month's European Parliament elections will restate the wording of a motion passed by Labour conference last year, which keeps a public vote on the table as a last option.

A party source made clear that this committed Labour to back a fresh vote only if the party cannot either win either the changes it wants to Theresa May's Withdrawal Agreement or secure a general election.

Deputy leader Tom Watson, who has led calls for a more positive commitment to a second referendum, dramatically left the six-hour meeting without comment, saying only that the manifesto would be published early next week.

Party clash: Labour’s deputy leader Tom Watson arriving at the meeting in London today
AFP/Getty Images

The move means senior shadow cabinet members, including Mr Watson, have failed in their bid to get the party to commit to a second referendum.

Mr Watson said as he left the meeting: "We're publishing our European manifesto early next week.

"You can ask me as many questions as you want but you'll have to wait till next week."

A Labour source said: "The NEC agreed the manifesto which will be fully in line with Labour's existing policy - to support Labour's alternative plan, and if we can't get the necessary changes to the Government's deal, or a general election, to back the option of a public vote."

Shadow business secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey and Dame Margaret Beckett left the meeting without commenting, while Momentum founder Jon Lansman said it was a "good meeting."

Tom Watson made a surprise departure from the top-level meeting
EPA

Mr Corbyn left party HQ by a back entrance and was seen being driven away in a people carrier. His car was momentarily blocked by pro-Remain protesters.

Mr Watson has been defying Mr Corbyn by rallying support for another another referendum, piling pressure on him to come off the fence and firmly back going back to the public over Brexit amid gridlock in Parliament.

His surprise departure from the top-level meeting highlighted the deep split at the heart of Labour over a so-called People’s Vote which was being discussed by its ruling body the National Executive Committee today.

Defending himself against claims that he stormed out, Mr Watson tweeted: “I politely asked if the shadow cabinet were going to see the draft words and was told ‘no’.

“So I left to walk to the NEC where the document will be available and the decision will be made."

File photo: (L-R) Keir Starmer, Jeremy Corbyn and Rebecca Long-Bailey
PA

Ahead of the NEC meeting, Labour MPs Peter Kyle and Phil Wilson wrote to Mr Corbyn and all NEC members urging them to ensure that a confirmatory ballot is in the manifesto.

Mr Wilson stressed that a referendum was backed by the majority of Labour MPs, MEPs, members and supporters, as well as several unions, and had featured in the policy approved by conference last autumn.

Some 115 MPs and MEPs signed a letter to NEC members organised by the Love Socialism, Hate Brexit group urging them to explicitly back a referendum in the manifesto.

And 34 of Labour's 70 candidates in the May 23 European elections have pledged to campaign for a referendum and then back Remain if a vote is called.

The meeting came amid increasingly positive mood music surrounding cross-party Brexit talks with Labour, with the Government understood to be hoping a conclusion may be reached towards the middle of next week.

File photo: Theresa May's Conservatives have slumped into fourth place in a new Euro elections poll
REUTERS

De facto deputy prime minister David Lidington told Cabinet that talks on Monday were "serious and constructive".

And Theresa May's official spokesman said: "Further talks will now be scheduled in order to bring the process toward a conclusion."

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said questions remained as to whether Labour was "serious about delivering Brexit".

Chuka Umunna, spokesman for pro-Remain party Change UK, accused his former party of "prevarication" over a referendum.

At the first in a series of Change UK rallies, he urged Labour supporters to "lend us your vote in these European elections".

Chuka Umunna speaks during a Change UK rally at Church House in Westminster
PA

"The better we do, the more likely you are to see the Labour leadership adopt a People's Vote and Remain position," Mr Umunna told the rally in London.

Labour MP Jess Phillips warned the party would face a "drubbing" if it went into the European elections without a clear promise on a second referendum.

Ms Phillips told ITV News' Acting Prime Minister podcast: "I think people who voted Remain and voted Labour will not vote Labour again.

"I do think we'll get a drubbing in the European elections. All the main parties are going to get a drubbing in the European elections."

And Corbyn-backing Labour MP Lloyd Russell-Moyle warned that a failure to offer a referendum could scotch the party leader's chances of getting to 10 Downing Street.

"Only way JC will be PM is to offer a confirmatory vote - we could be out of power for a generation and the left will be swept away in Labour," tweeted the Brighton Kemptown MP.

"This is the fight for the left project and many are committing self harm."

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