Labour and Brexit
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is badly out of step with the majority of party members over Brexit.
Most Labour members support a second referendum on the final terms of Brexit and also wish to stay inside the EU Single Market and Customs Union.
A group of London Labour MPs think their Dear Leader has got things badly wrong and have decided to speak out - read the report via the following linkto the Evening Standard.
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/brexit-latest-labour-mps-break-ranks-to-demand-second-eu-referendum-a3853716.html
Brexit latest: Labour MPs break ranks to demand second EU referendum
By ROBIN DE PEYER - Evening Standard
David Lammy was among those who called for another vote ( PA )
A group of 16 Labour MPs have broken ranks to call for a second referendum on Brexit.
The group of London politicians joined forces with Lib Dem leader Sir Vince Cable and two of his MPs to warn of the dangers that the capital faces when the UK leaves the European Union.
The signatories of the letter to the Independent, which urged a deal that keeps Britain in the customs union and single market, included six former shadow ministers, several of whom were in place until last year.
Among the 16 are regular critics of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, including Mike Gapes and Wes Streeting, plus other including Rushanara Ali, Margaret Hodge, David Lammy and Tulip Siddiq. They represent a third of the 49 Labour MPs in London.
It comes the day after 10 Welsh Labour MPs called for a second referendum, including Anna McMorrin and Tonia Antoniazzi, who are parliamentary private secretaries to shadow cabinet members.
Mr Corbyn - himself a London MP - has repeatedly said Labour does not support a second national poll and fired Owen Smith as shadow Northern Ireland secretary for proposing one.
Labour leader: Jeremy Corbyn (Bloomberg via Getty Images)
In the letter to the Independent on Saturday, the London MPs warned that the capital "represents all the most positive elements of being global, outward-looking, welcoming and tolerant, but that was all at risk if Brexit went badly".
In the letter to the Independent on Saturday, the London MPs warned that the capital "represents all the most positive elements of being global, outward-looking, welcoming and tolerant, but that was all at risk if Brexit went badly".
They added: "The Government has a mandate to negotiate a Brexit deal. What the Government absolutely does not have is a mandate to force a bad Brexit deal on our city that could damage London for generations to come.
"So much of the economy of London relies on being in the single market and the customs union, and on freedom of movement.
"From the tech sector to finance, from construction to culture, London benefits hugely from being part of a larger European market. Outside of this European market, our city will suffer."
Other Labour backbenchers who have called for a second referendum on the Brexit deal include MPs in the North East.
Labour Fail Over Brexit (22/05/18)
Jeremy Corbyn is deliberately defying the will of the vast majority of Labour Party members over Brexit and Andrew Adonis is right to point out on Twitter that there's really nothing to between Labour and the Conservatives.
Now if Keir Starmer were to seize the opportunity and speak out that really would set the cat amongst the pigeons - and not before time!
What would Labour policy on Brexit be if there were a snap election? On Keir’s statements to date, it would be essentially the same as Mrs May’s. So what choice would the voters have, when it looks as if a majority now want to stop Brexit with a people’s vote?
Labour Brexit (30/08/17)
Some wag on Twitter posted this crude but very effective drawing to illustrate the policy difference between Labour and Conservatives over Brexit.
As the Pound continues to fall like a stone against the Euro, sucking in higher inflation, the claims from the Leave camp about 'taking back control' seem comical and absurd, although not in the least funny.
As I've said before on the blog site, no one voted for this nonsense and if you ask me what we really need is a cross party campaign for the final Brexit deal to be put to a 'free vote' of MPs at Westminster.
Followed by a second referendum once people can fully appreciate the costs and benefits of leaving the European Union (EU).
Labour on Brexit (27/07/17)
Labour policy on Brexit is turning into something of a pantomime as Jeremy Corbyn says 'all options are on the table' only days after ruling out continued membership of the Single Market.
One of Corbyn's key supporters in Labour's shadow cabinet (Barry Gardiner) also went out of his way this week to insist that a Labour would not support continued membership of the Customs Union.
In reality, the Conservative Government is all over the place on Brexit and the same goes for the official Labour opposition.
What a complete mess.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/jeremy-corbyn-barry-gardiner-labour-customs-union-eu-brexit-international-trade-secretary-a7859561.html
Jeremy Corbyn upbraids Barry Gardiner for contradicting Labour customs union position
The Labour leader and the Shadow International Trade Secretary have set out completely different positions over the customs union
By Tom Peck - The Independent
But Mr Corbyn has already ruled out continued membership of the single market. He said at the weekend that leaving the single market and leaving the EU were "inextricably linked", even though Liechtenstein and Norway remain a member of the single market but not the EU.
On Sunday night Mr Gardiner said remainining in the customs union would create an “asymmetrical relationship” between the UK and any nations the EU went on to strike trade agreements with, as the UK's interests in those deals would not be considered.
“The EU could do a deal with another country, let’s say America, which we would be bound by in the UK,” he explained.
“We would have to accept the liberalisation of our markets, we would have to accept their goods coming into our markets on the terms agreed by Europe, which could be prejudicial to us.
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-40726213
John McDonnell not ruling out single market membership
BBC UK Politics
Labour has not ruled out continued membership of the EU single market, John McDonnell has said, as he sought to play down divisions over Brexit.
Everyone wanted tariff-free access to EU markets, the shadow chancellor said.
But there was a debate on-going within the Labour Party about whether the best option was continued membership or a separate agreement, he added.
Jeremy Corbyn has suggested the single market is "inextricably linked" to EU membership and the UK cannot remain.
Speaking on Sunday, the Labour leader said leaving the EU meant leaving the EU's internal market - whose members must abide by rules on the free movement of goods, capital, services, and labour.
Jones calls on May to rethink Brexit
Cabinet 'united' over EU transition deal
Brexit: All you need to know
The party's international trade spokesman, Barry Gardiner, has gone further, saying the UK should also rule out remaining in the customs union beyond any transitional period, claiming that failing to do so would make the UK a "vassal state" unable to negotiate sovereign trade deals.
However, many Labour MPs disagree with both positions - arguing that it is in the UK's economic interests to remain in both. They point out there are non-EU members, like Norway, which have full access to the single market and countries such as Turkey which belong to the customs union.
And Welsh first minister Carwyn Jones is arguing Labour should be pushing for the UK to remain in the single market - even though it might mean not being able to impose any controls on immigration from the EU.
Mr McDonnell insisted Labour had a "straightforward" position on the type of access the UK needed to its largest market after it leaves the EU in March 2019.
"Our objective is tariff-free access to the market," he said. "That has been our objective since immediately after the referendum.
"The structures - whether we are in or out - are a secondary matter.
"We are not ruling anything out but what we are saying is that we are the fifth largest economy in the world and we have a special status in both our relationship with the EU and the rest of the globe and we feel we can get a deal that achieves tariff-free access."
'Special status'
Pressed on whether he and Mr Corbyn disagreed on the matter, he said: "I think we are all on the same page with regard to our objectives... there is a debate around whether it is full membership or a new relationship or a separate agreement.
"What we are saying is keep our eye on what is the most important objective, tariff-free access. We can achieve that."
The BBC's assistant political editor Norman Smith said there was a "deep internal divide" within the party and the shadow chancellor was seeking to "soften" the party's stance following a backlash by pro-EU MPs and trade unionists over Mr Corbyn and Mr Gardiner's remarks
Amid signs of growing internal strains over Brexit, the former shadow health secretary Heidi Alexander said she had never felt "more concerned" about her party's position.
"My colleague Barry Gardiner's contribution to the Brexit debate, in which he argues for the UK to come out of the single market and customs union to facilitate Brexit was, for me, depressing and disingenuous in equal measure," she wrote in the Guardian.
She accused her colleague of using arguments on sovereignty, immigration and the legal jurisdiction that "could have come straight out of Tory Central Office", Instead, she said Labour must focus on the damage posed to those on low and middle incomes of a so-called hard Brexit.
The government has said the UK will leave the single market and customs union but could maintain some existing arrangements for an interim period to help British business adjust.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn keeps saying that the UK cannot leave the European Union and at the same time stay within the Single Market.
He's wrong of course, as this diagram shows, and he is also out of step with the majority of Labour supporters, especially the younger members who have most to lose and don't share the hang ups of Corbyn's leftist inner circle.
The Labour leader's spokesperson said remaining in the customs union was still 'on the table' Reuters
Jeremy Corbyn has disagreed with his own Shadow International Trade Secretary, and said that the Labour party would keep membership of the customs union after Brexit "on the table."
Mr Gardiner had said in a newspaper article and repeated his comments in various television interviews, that remaining in the customs union after leaving th EU would render Britain a "vassal state" as it would be subject to rules it had no power to set or amend.
A spokesperson for Mr Corbyn said it was wrong to "sweep options off the table."
Jeremy Corbyn has disagreed with his own Shadow International Trade Secretary, and said that the Labour party would keep membership of the customs union after Brexit "on the table."
Mr Gardiner had said in a newspaper article and repeated his comments in various television interviews, that remaining in the customs union after leaving th EU would render Britain a "vassal state" as it would be subject to rules it had no power to set or amend.
A spokesperson for Mr Corbyn said it was wrong to "sweep options off the table."
But Mr Corbyn has already ruled out continued membership of the single market. He said at the weekend that leaving the single market and leaving the EU were "inextricably linked", even though Liechtenstein and Norway remain a member of the single market but not the EU.
On Sunday night Mr Gardiner said remainining in the customs union would create an “asymmetrical relationship” between the UK and any nations the EU went on to strike trade agreements with, as the UK's interests in those deals would not be considered.
“The EU could do a deal with another country, let’s say America, which we would be bound by in the UK,” he explained.
“We would have to accept the liberalisation of our markets, we would have to accept their goods coming into our markets on the terms agreed by Europe, which could be prejudicial to us.
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-40726213
John McDonnell not ruling out single market membership
BBC UK Politics
Labour has not ruled out continued membership of the EU single market, John McDonnell has said, as he sought to play down divisions over Brexit.
Everyone wanted tariff-free access to EU markets, the shadow chancellor said.
But there was a debate on-going within the Labour Party about whether the best option was continued membership or a separate agreement, he added.
Jeremy Corbyn has suggested the single market is "inextricably linked" to EU membership and the UK cannot remain.
Speaking on Sunday, the Labour leader said leaving the EU meant leaving the EU's internal market - whose members must abide by rules on the free movement of goods, capital, services, and labour.
Jones calls on May to rethink Brexit
Cabinet 'united' over EU transition deal
Brexit: All you need to know
The party's international trade spokesman, Barry Gardiner, has gone further, saying the UK should also rule out remaining in the customs union beyond any transitional period, claiming that failing to do so would make the UK a "vassal state" unable to negotiate sovereign trade deals.
However, many Labour MPs disagree with both positions - arguing that it is in the UK's economic interests to remain in both. They point out there are non-EU members, like Norway, which have full access to the single market and countries such as Turkey which belong to the customs union.
And Welsh first minister Carwyn Jones is arguing Labour should be pushing for the UK to remain in the single market - even though it might mean not being able to impose any controls on immigration from the EU.
Mr McDonnell insisted Labour had a "straightforward" position on the type of access the UK needed to its largest market after it leaves the EU in March 2019.
"Our objective is tariff-free access to the market," he said. "That has been our objective since immediately after the referendum.
"The structures - whether we are in or out - are a secondary matter.
"We are not ruling anything out but what we are saying is that we are the fifth largest economy in the world and we have a special status in both our relationship with the EU and the rest of the globe and we feel we can get a deal that achieves tariff-free access."
'Special status'
Pressed on whether he and Mr Corbyn disagreed on the matter, he said: "I think we are all on the same page with regard to our objectives... there is a debate around whether it is full membership or a new relationship or a separate agreement.
"What we are saying is keep our eye on what is the most important objective, tariff-free access. We can achieve that."
The BBC's assistant political editor Norman Smith said there was a "deep internal divide" within the party and the shadow chancellor was seeking to "soften" the party's stance following a backlash by pro-EU MPs and trade unionists over Mr Corbyn and Mr Gardiner's remarks
Amid signs of growing internal strains over Brexit, the former shadow health secretary Heidi Alexander said she had never felt "more concerned" about her party's position.
"My colleague Barry Gardiner's contribution to the Brexit debate, in which he argues for the UK to come out of the single market and customs union to facilitate Brexit was, for me, depressing and disingenuous in equal measure," she wrote in the Guardian.
She accused her colleague of using arguments on sovereignty, immigration and the legal jurisdiction that "could have come straight out of Tory Central Office", Instead, she said Labour must focus on the damage posed to those on low and middle incomes of a so-called hard Brexit.
The government has said the UK will leave the single market and customs union but could maintain some existing arrangements for an interim period to help British business adjust.
Corbyn's Out of Step (25/07/17)
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn keeps saying that the UK cannot leave the European Union and at the same time stay within the Single Market.
He's wrong of course, as this diagram shows, and he is also out of step with the majority of Labour supporters, especially the younger members who have most to lose and don't share the hang ups of Corbyn's leftist inner circle.
