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Corbyn would back Labour membership call for second referendum Labour prepared to vote down May's final Brexit deal, says Corbyn
(35 minutes later)
Jeremy Corbyn has said he would support a second referendum on Brexit if activists at his party conference voted for a change in Labour policy. Jeremy Corbyn has said Labour would be prepared to vote down Theresa May’s final Brexit deal this autumn in an attempt to force the government back to the negotiating table with Brussels because the party has been concerned about a dilution in workers’ rights and environmental standards.
The Labour leader said the policy was not his first choice because he believed a general election would be a better way to resolve the political crisis over the nature of the UK’s departure from the EU. The Labour leader also repeated that he was open to the idea of a second referendum if the party agreed to that policy later this week, although he added he would wait and see what wording would be put in front of the delegates after a meeting on Sunday evening.
But his position reflects the fact there is intense pressure from local parties and trade unions for Labour to embrace a second referendum. More than 100 constituency parties have submitted motions calling for a second vote on the conference floor. In an interview with Andrew Marr, Corbyn said of May’s final Brexit deal: “We would vote it down if it didn’t meet out tests, in order to send the government – if it is still in office – straight back to the negotiating table.”
The motions will be consolidated on Sunday evening in a process known as compositing, which will determine the final wording of the resolutions to be put to a vote on Tuesday. “We want to protect jobs and industry in the country,” he added.
The exact wording chosen may end in a fudge, probably keeping a new poll on the table but stressing preference for an general election. In November the UK parliament is expected to vote on whether to approve whatever Brexit deal May brings back from her negotiations with the European Union.
A further leadership statement on Brexit could still be submitted on the day of the debate, which could trump the composite motion. Conservatives backing hard Brexit have already threatened to vote against the deal if May continues with her Chequers plan to keep the UK in the single market for food and goods, meaning that if Labour were to vote against it as well, its passage through the Commons would be far from certain.
Corbyn told the Sunday Mirror: “What comes out of conference I will adhere to. But I’m not calling for a second referendum. I hope we will agree that the best way of resolving this is a general election. A debate on a second referendum has been called for by over 100 constituencies, who have sent in motions asking the party to support it, following a debate on the conference floor. The motions will be consolidated on Sunday evening in a process known as compositing, which will determine the final wording of the resolutions to be put to a vote of delegates on Tuesday.
“But I was elected to empower the members of the party. So if conference makes a decision I will not walk away from it and I will act accordingly.” The exact wording chosen may end in a fudge, probably keeping a new poll on the table but stressing preference for a general election. A further leadership statement on Brexit could still be submitted on the day of the debate, which could trump the composite motion.
There was a similar message from the deputy Labour leader, Tom Watson, who told the Observer: “Jeremy and I were elected in 2015 to give the Labour party back to its members. In the run-up to the Labour conference, local parties can submit motions on any contemporary topic for debate. After a concerted push by grassroots activists, more than 150 constituency parties (CLPs) have submitted motions on Brexit, an unprecedented number. For comparison, the topic with the second highest number of motions submitted – the NHS – has been put forward by 10 CLPs.
“So if the people’s party decide they want the people to have a final say on the deal, we have to respect the view of our members and we will go out and argue for it.” However, the motions are not identical. The majority call for a second referendum directly, some express preference for an election, others call for an EEA-style Brexit. When different motions are submitted on one topic, delegates from the local parties who submitted motions, as well as trade union representatives, meet the shadow cabinet member responsible, in this case Keir Starmer, to agree a "composite motion" to be put to the conference floor for a vote. This is usually a compromise taking in all the elements of the different motions. 
Last night, Corbyn-supporting delegates warned that if their demands were rejected, “disillusionment” would spread fast across the movement that propelled him to the leadership. Usually this is a straightforward process, because there are only a handful of delegates and union reps in the room. This time, there are likely to be more than 100 people in the room from all the local parties who submitted motions, so things could get complicated.
Alena Ivanova, a Momentum activist and organiser for one of the groups pushing for another vote, Another Europe is Possible, said: “The main question at this year’s conference is about democracy and whether members really control Labour.” The final version is likely to be a compromise which expresses preference for an election but keeps the option of a referendum on the table. And Labour's governing body, the national executive committee, could offer a replacement statement of its own for the vote instead.
Labour and trade union delegates vote on Sunday on eight topics for debate at conference in the “priorities ballot”. Trade unions have decided one of their four topics will be Brexit, meaning the prospect of a second referendum will be debated on the conference floor. Corbyn said “there will be a clear vote in conference” on Brexit although he declined to specify whether there would be a clear vote on a second referendum.
Momentum is advising delegates to prioritise four topics: Windrush, schools, housing and Palestine. Sources said it was unnecessary to advise delegates to vote for Brexit, seeing as it was guaranteed debate anyway because the unions would vote for it. “I don’t know what will come out of the compositing meeting,” he said, adding: “Let’s see what comes out of conference. I’m bound by the democracy of our party.”
Campaigners had feared that Momentum could use its manpower to block a debate on Brexit. Separately, a Corbyn ally, the Unite general secretary, Len McCluskey, said if there was a second referendum, remain should not be on the ballot paper, and that the public should choose between whether to endorse May’s final deal or opt for no deal at all.
Last year, Momentum steered its delegates to vote on other topics to swerve a possible vote on single-market membership which could have exposed tensions between the Labour leadership and members. However, the group’s national co-ordinator Laura Parker told the Guardian earlier this week that would not be repeated. “The referendum shouldn’t be on do we want to go back into the European Union?” McCluskey told the BBC’s Pienaar’s politics.
Jeremy CorbynJeremy Corbyn
Labour Labour conference 2018
BrexitBrexit
Foreign policyForeign policy
Article 50 Len McCluskey
European Union Labour
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