Sunday 23 September 2018

Jeremy Corbyn should tell us what is stance on Brexit really is.

For left Wing Remainers in the Labour party it must be very Jeremy Corbyn's stance or rather lack of one over Brexit is frankly depressing, finding themselves, agreeing with Arch Blarite  Lord Adonis after years of opposing the right wing shift under former leader Tony Blair must seem odd.

The news this morning that Labour's leader and deputy leader say they would be ready to back another EU referendum if party members want one.
Leader Jeremy Corbyn told the Sunday Mirror he was not calling for a new vote but would "adhere to" any decision made at this week's party conference.
And deputy leader Tom Watson, speaking to the Observer, said the view of party members must be respected.
It comes as a poll for the newspaper suggests 86% of members want a vote on the outcome of Brexit negotiations.
The party has never formally rejected the option of a further vote but both Mr Corbyn and Mr Watson have indicated they would prefer the issue to be resolved by a general election.
and only a few hours earlier  shadow chancellor John McDonnell Labour's leadership will resist grassroots pressure to commit to a second referendum .
Speaking on the eve of the party's annual conference in Liverpool, Mr McDonnell warned of the risk that a re-run vote could stoke far-right populism and xenophobia.
'I'm desperately trying to avoid any rise of xenophobia that happened last time around, I'm desperately trying to avoid giving any opportunity to Ukip or the far right. I think there's the real risk of that.'We're not ruling out a people's vote, but there's a real risk, and I think people need to take that into account when we're arguing for one.'
And according to BBC Wales Jeremy Corbyn has rejected a call by First Minister Carwyn Jones to decide Labour's position on a further Brexit referendum by November at the latest.
On Wednesday, Mr Jones said there needs to be a "very established position on a referendum by October or November".
Responding to Mr Jones's comments, Mr Corbyn told the BBC's Sunday Politics Wales programme: 
"I'm not quite sure why November at the earliest has been brought in to his calculations, but what I would say is we have set our six tests out.
"We will vote in Parliament accordingly on those six tests and hold the government to account on it. The government are the ones who are supposed to be undertaking the negotiations but they're facing both ways.
"Deregulation with Donald Trump or some kind of semi-deal with the European Union? We want something much more comprehensive and far more serious."
Mr Corbyn added: "No referendum is being offered, no questions are being put. The issue is of negotiations."
Confused?  You should be.
So I am still unclear on what Labour are proposing if they take the General Election route, whould they be calling for a end to Brexi and revoking Article 50 or a softer Brexit

Article 50 by which the UK singled it was withdrawing  from the EU does not spell out whether Member States can rescind their notification of their intention to withdraw during the negotiation period while their country is still a Member of the European Union. However, the President of the European Council said to the European Parliament on 24 October 2017 that “deal, no deal or no Brexit” is up to Britain. Indeed, the prevailing legal opinion among EU law experts and the EU institutions themselves is that a member state intending to leave may change its mind, as an “intention” is not yet a deed and intentions can change before the deed is done.  The issue is untested in court.

Sp would a Peoples vote have more power than a General Election result, bearing in mind it seems likely that the latter would naturally follow in the wake of a remain vote.

But where would Jeremy Corbyn stand on the question of leaving Europe is he just as Hard Brexiter as the likes of Boris Johnson or William Rees-Mogg, or what.

It would be the ultimate tragedy of the Labour Party , that after decades of waiting for a real socialist leader , the poor and dispossessed who have endured Thatcherism, Blair's Neo-Liberalism and Cameron/Clegg/ May's austerity , to find them selves betrayed by a leader who is to prepared to sacrifice them by backing a Left-Brexit  and a dream of a Socialist Utopia outside the EU.

3 comments:

Leigh Richards said...

So maybe the real headline this morning should be 'party leader willing to accept decision of the members of the party he leads'.....seen in that context jezza's statement last night - however welcome - doesnt seem quite as remarkable as some seem to be thinking this morning. Indeed i thought a large part of the corbynista/momentum philosophy was based on the principle that the uk labour party should carry out the democratic wishes of its members.

East Neuker said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Gwyn Isaac said...

According to The Sunday Times this morning, May has contingency plans to call a General Election this November and if she wins it to resign as PM in the Summer of 2019. But in another story in that paper unless she moves from the Chequers Plan to a Canada + position there will be a vote of no confidence in her as Tory Party Leader in the next two weeks. And there is no guarantee that Remain would win a second EU Referendum. We live in interesting times...