Labour: Caught Between The Devil And The Deep

The government is now hell bent on hard Brexit, perhaps because it is the only kind of Brexit which will achieve the return of sovereignty, the end of free movement, the neutering of the European Court of Justice and the end of contributions to Brussels. The Tory party will in the main accept the outcome of the referendum and vote to trigger Article 50. Remember it is the Article 50 which is the act of leaving. After that it is a clean up job. It is not a notice of later intent which might, if the terms are not right, be abandoned.

Nobody consciously voted for hard Brexit, because what it truly meant was never explained, not least because the Leave campaign had no idea. The choice was In or Out. But that choice was never there. It was never that simple. Yes we could leave, but to do so would cost us rights and freedoms, economic opportunities and cultural associations which probably a majority would prefer to keep. Simply put, Out is less. Less bad things perhaps, but less good things too and the balance looks increasingly negative. Maybe Out will one day be more. Maybe not.

Labour is the Official Opposition. The margin of victory for Leave was narrow and only in England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland voted Remain. Labour’s job is to stand up for the rights and interests of the people who want to stay in the EU at best and at the very least not to leap over the hard Brexit cliff. There is nothing undemocratic about that. In a general election when one party or coalition wins, there is no obligation on the minority in the Commons to support the government; the opposite is true.

The problem for Labour is that most of its party membership is for Remain, but although so are many of its voters, many, perhaps many more, are for Leave. Passions are running high both ways. So whatever Corbyn orders about votes and whips will provoke a rebellion. Here is the nub of the problem. Corbyn, the serial rebel, who has over decades in the House of Commons rebelled against his party nearly 500 times, is on a hiding to nothing. But surely this is why he was elected? Because in the New Politics, which he was seen to represent, it is no longer acceptable for MPs to vote according to the demands of party managers. The idea of more authentic democracy has taken hold. Lobby fodder is out. MPs are now expected to represent the wishes of their constituents. So some should vote for Article 50, but many should vote against.

Labour’s underlying problem is there if you look.  It has elected a disruptive leader and it wants a parliamentary party in his image, which will do their bidding, not his. And that means that only if there is consensus would all be expected to vote the same way. And on Brexit there is none. The smart thing would be to give Labour MPs a free vote. The smartest thing of all would be to end the practice of whipping and replace it with liaison and welfare to keep open healthy channels of debate and exchange of ideas. That is what the people want. Because today they have the whole thing in the palms of their hands. The press now just talk to each other. But so do the people.