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TUC says it will back second referendum if Brexit deal fails workers TUC says it will back second referendum if Brexit deal fails workers
(about 5 hours later)
The Trades Union Congress is prepared to campaign for a referendum on a Brexit deal unless Theresa May returns with a good deal for British workers, the organisation’s general secretary said on Sunday. The Trades Union Congress is prepared to campaign for a referendum on a Brexit deal unless Theresa May returns with an agreement that is good for British workers, the organisation’s general secretary has said.
Frances O’Grady said that unless the prime minister returned with a deal which protects jobs and workers’ rights, the umbrella organisation for the UK’s unions would support the People’s Vote campaign. Frances O’Grady said that unless the prime minister secured a deal that protects jobs and workers’ rights, the umbrella organisation for the UK’s unions would support the People’s Vote campaign.
Her comments came as union delegates gathered in Manchester for the annual TUC conference, where Brexit will be debated on Monday, and two weeks before the Labour party conference in Liverpool, where delegates are expected to debate and vote on Brexit policy.Her comments came as union delegates gathered in Manchester for the annual TUC conference, where Brexit will be debated on Monday, and two weeks before the Labour party conference in Liverpool, where delegates are expected to debate and vote on Brexit policy.
There has been mounting pressure and a national campaign over the summer for a second referendum on the final Brexit deal. Although her proposal has been opposed by some union leaders, it will add to the pressure on Jeremy Corbyn to back a referendum on the final Brexit deal if a general election is not called.
O’Grady told the BBC’s The Andrew Marr Show: “I want to serve notice to the prime minister today that if we don’t get the deal that working people need, the TUC will be throwing our full weight behind the campaign for a popular vote so that people get a say on whether that deal is good enough. O’Grady told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show: “I want to serve notice to the prime minister today that if we don’t get the deal that working people need, the TUC will be throwing our full weight behind the campaign for a popular vote so that people get a say on whether that deal is good enough.
“I am a trade unionist. There is no way that a trade union would negotiate a deal and not go back to their members,” she said. “People don’t trust politicians. They are really worried about what Brexit means for their jobs, their communities and their wage packets with prices going up too. If the prime minister can’t get a deal that meets our needs then we will be campaigning for a popular vote.”
“People don’t trust politicians. They are really worried about what Brexit means for their jobs, their communities and their wage packets with prices going up too. So it is only right that people can have a say. O’Grady called on May to seek an immediate extension on article 50 so she could attempt to negotiate a deal that would protect the rights and jobs of UK workers.
“If the prime minister can’t get a deal that meets our needs, then we will be campaigning for a popular vote.” “Time is running out and crashing out of the EU would be an absolute disaster for the people we represent,” she said.
O’Grady called for the prime minister to seek an immediate extension so she could attempt to negotiate a deal that would protect the rights and jobs of UK workers. In a further boost for the People’s Vote campaign, the public service union Unison confirmed that it would also support a second referendum under certain circumstances.
“We have been very clear that the PM should protect jobs, protect workers’ rights and [deliver] no hard border in Northern Ireland. A spokesperson for Unison, which has 1.3 million members, said: “When and if an agreement is reached, asking the public for their views is definitely one option, as is thorough parliamentary scrutiny. But the best option of all would be a general election.”
“Time is running out and crashing out of the EU would be an absolute disaster for the people we represent. It means the three biggest unions – Unison, GMB and Unite – have all indicated their willingness to support a second vote on Brexit in the absence of a general election.
“What the PM should be doing is seeking an extension on article 50 so we don’t crash out in March,” she said. One union leader who opposes a second referendum said on Sunday that it could spark widespread civil disobedience. Appearing at a TUC fringe event, the RMT general secretary, Mick Cash, said trade unionists had voted for Brexit in droves and should not be ignored.
Asked for her message for Jeremy Corbyn, who has said that Labour does not yet have a policy on a popular vote, and to address fears that a second referendum could lead to social unrest, O’Grady said: “I think Labour have left all options on the table. The difference with Labour is they have said they want to put jobs first. “The only vote now that matters is a general election and the sooner the better. The talk of a second vote on the withdrawal terms is a de facto second referendum whichever way you try to dress it up and risks becoming a Trojan horse for civil unrest on our streets,” he said.
“We are not talking about unravelling that vote, we are talking about a vote on the deal. Ordinary people should get a vote on the terms of that deal.” A poll in the Observer disclosed that members of Britain’s three biggest trade unions now support a new referendum by a margin of more than two to one.
Last week, the GMB union’s head, Tim Roache, called for a vote on the final deal, unless a general election is called beforehand. The survey of more than 2,700 members of Unite, Unison and the GMB by YouGov for the People’s Vote campaign also found that a clear majority of members now backed staying in the EU, believing Brexit would be bad for jobs and living standards.
The GMB is one of the three big unions – alongside Unison and Unite – that exercise the greatest influence over Labour, in part because of its funding to the party. It is the first to call for a referendum so explicitly. In an interview with the Observer before the poll findings were released, the shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, said his preferred option was still for voters to be offered a say on the government’s handling of Brexit – and any deal brought back from Brussels by May – in a general election. But he said that if Labour was unable to force one in the coming months, he wanted to “keep all options open”.
Unite, whose general secretary, Len McCluskey, is a strong backer of the Labour leadership, passed a motion at its policy conference in July supporting the possibility of a popular vote on Brexit. In comments that will increase the pressure on May to seek a deal from the Brexit negotiations, the CBI’s director general, Carolyn Fairbairn, said the lack of progress over the summer had left business leaders frustrated and “bordering on despair”.
A poll in the Observer disclosed that members of Britain’s three biggest trade unions now support a new referendum on Brexit by a margin of more than two to one. “When people went away for the summer they hoped that we would come back for the new term in September with a renewed sense of purpose and instead we’ve come back to siren voices, you know, the soap opera.
The survey of more than 2,700 members of Unite, Unison and the GMB by YouGov, for the People’s Vote campaign, also found that a clear majority of members of the three unions now back staying in the EU, believing Brexit will be bad for jobs and living standards. “If you’re running a business at the moment you can only plan for one outcome and that is a no-deal scenario and that is what we’re seeing,” she told the BBC’s Pienaar’s Politics.
In an interview with the Observer before the poll findings were released, the shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, said his preferred option was still for voters to be offered a say on the government’s handling of Brexit – and any deal brought back from Brussels by May – in a general election. But he said that if Labour was unable to force one in the coming months, he wanted to “keep all options open”, including supporting a new referendum. She urged the government and the EU to take the possibility of a no-deal Brexit off the table or face “catastrophe”.
“There are 150,000 businesses out there that have only ever traded with the European Union, they have no systems in place, they have no ability to be able to deal with WTO rules, they have no ability to be able to get their stuff across borders.
“There are many businesses who don’t know if their goods would be legally tradable in a no-deal world. This is an incredibly serious thing to be considering as a possibility,” she said.
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