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Labour could seize option of second Brexit vote, says McDonnell Labour will inevitably back second Brexit referendum, says McDonnell
(about 11 hours later)
John McDonnell has said a second Brexit referendum “might be an option we seize upon”, admitting for the first time that remain should be on the ballot paper and insisting that “no deal” should not. John McDonnell has said Labour will “inevitably” back a second referendum if the party is unable to force a general election, in comments widely regarded as marking a shift in Labour’s position.
The shadow chancellor said he would vote to remain in any new referendum and that offering the chance to vote on no deal would carry too high a risk. The shadow chancellor repeated that a general election remained a preference but admitted it was “very difficult to do” because of the Fixed-term Parliaments Act.
The comments, made at a Guardian Live event, mark a shift in thinking from McDonnell, who had previously argued that the option to remain should not be on the ballot paper for any fresh referendum on the Brexit deal. “If that’s not possible, we’ll be calling upon the government then to join us in a public vote,” he told the BBC. “It’s difficult to judge each stage, but that’s the sequence I think that we’ll inevitably go through over this period.”
Those comments sparked concern at the Labour’s conference in September, where delegates voted overwhelmingly to commit the party to seeking a new referendum if it could not force a general election. Asked to confirm that he thought this was “inevitable”, McDonnell said: “That’s right. Our policy is if we can’t get a general election, then the other option which we’ve kept on the table is a people’s vote.”
On Tuesday night, McDonnell said he would vote remain in a new referendum, in contrast with Jeremy Corbyn, who had refused to commit which way he would vote when asked on Sky News last week. If MPs reject the deal, there are seven possible paths the country could go down next.
“We can’t have no deal on the ballot paper,” McDonnell said. “There’s an overwhelming majority in parliament against that happening, because of the damage.” May brings it back to MPsPerhaps with minor tweaks after a dash to Brussels. ​MPs knuckle under and vote it through.
May resigns immediatelyIt is hard to imagine her surviving for long. After a rapid leadership contest, a different leader could appeal to a majority in parliament, perhaps by offering a softer deal.
Tory backbenchers depose herJacob Rees-Mogg gets his way and there is a no-confidence vote. A new leader then tries to assemble a majority behind a tweaked deal.
May calls a general electionMay could choose to take the ultimate gamble and hope that voters would back her deal, over the heads of squabbling MPs.
Labour tries to force an electionThe opposition tables a vote of no confidence. ​If May lost​, the opposition (or a new Conservative leader) would have two weeks to form an alternative government that could win a second confidence vote. If they were unable to do so, a general election would be triggered.
A second referendum gathers supportThis is most likely if Labour makes a last-ditch decision to back it. 
No dealThe EU (Withdrawal) Act specifies 29 March 2019 as Brexit day. Amber Rudd has said she believes parliament would stop a no deal, but it is not clear how it would do so.
The strength of McDonnell’s comments about the prospect of a new referendum in recent days has threatened to open up a faultline between him and the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, who is reported to be far more lukewarm about the idea.
Some shadow cabinet members confessed to being baffled about the comments on Wednesday, and suggested McDonnell was less enthusiastic about a referendum in private. One asked: “Is he running with the hares and hunting with the hounds?”
Responding to McDonnell, Theresa May said: “His comments about the second referendum today show that what the Labour party want to do is frustrate Brexit. They want to overturn the will of the British people. Parliament overwhelmingly gave the British people a vote. They voted to leave. I think it’s a matter of trust in politicians that they actually deliver on Brexit for the British people.”
Both McDonnell and Corbyn are acutely conscious that the vast majority of Labour members and many of its MPs are ardently anti-Brexit. They fear alienating a swath of supporters if they ignore the pleas of this group.
However, they also believe it is highly unlikely that the idea of a second referendum could command a majority in the House of Commons – though momentum could build if the meaningful vote on May’s Brexit deal on 11 December is lost.
Corbyn’s spokesman insisted on Wednesday that the party’s first priority would be to try to build support for its own, alternative Brexit deal rather than jumping to demand another poll.
At a Guardian Live event less than 24 hours earlier, McDonnell had said a second Brexit referendum “might be an option we seize upon”, suggesting for the first time that remain should be on the ballot paper and insisting that a no-deal Brexit should not.
At the event on Tuesday, McDonnell fleshed out his views on how a second referendum should operate and said he personally would vote to remain in any new referendum.
That marked another contrast with Corbyn, who said he did not know which way he would vote when asked on Sky News last week.
McDonnell said he would vote remain and that the country could not risk putting no-deal as an option on any ballot paper. “There’s an overwhelming majority in parliament against that happening, because of the damage.”
McDonnell said he had recently met leading figures from the People’s Vote campaign, including Alastair Campbell and Ed Miliband’s former adviser Tom Baldwin.McDonnell said he had recently met leading figures from the People’s Vote campaign, including Alastair Campbell and Ed Miliband’s former adviser Tom Baldwin.
The shadow chancellor said he expected May to lose the first vote, and present a tweaked deal that he predicted would fail as well. He said he expected May to lose the first Commons vote and to present a tweaked deal that he predicted would fail as well. “Whether and when we put a vote of no confidence down will be a tactical decision,” he said. “We’ll want a maximum effect.”
“All through that, we will be calling for a general election,” he said. “Whether and when we put a vote of no confidence down will be a tactical decision. We’ll want a maximum effect.”
He said the party had been meeting to discuss coordination with the Scottish National party, the Liberal Democrats and Caroline Lucas of the Greens. “If we can’t get a general election, people’s vote is on the table and that might be an option we seize upon,” he said.He said the party had been meeting to discuss coordination with the Scottish National party, the Liberal Democrats and Caroline Lucas of the Greens. “If we can’t get a general election, people’s vote is on the table and that might be an option we seize upon,” he said.
Before that, the party would also offer their own versions of a deal, he said. “We’ll have to go through that sequence to show we’re doing everything we can,” he said. Before that, Labour would offer its own versions of a deal, he said. “We’ll have to go through that sequence to show we’re doing everything we can,” he said.
Corbyn’s team is planning for a range of possible scenarios as the Labour leader prepares to ramp up efforts to explain his alternative plan to the public in the coming days. He is expected to confront the prime minister in a head-to-head television debate. Labour’s official position is to push its own version of a Brexit deal involving a permanent customs union and a close relationship with the single market that falls short of full membership.
The Labour leadership is determined to reject the idea gaining ground at Westminster of a Norway-plus deal. The Scottish first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, said on Tuesday she hoped a majority could coalesce around the proposal, which is being promoted by the Conservative backbencher Nick Boles. Sources close to McDonnell played down any difference in position to Corbyn and said his comments were not a change in policy.
However, senior Labour sources insisted they regarded it as an unacceptable abrogation of sovereignty that would fail to honour the referendum result, won by the Vote Leave campaign with the slogan “take back control” – though some shadow cabinet members will be keener to explore it. Speaking after prime minister’s questions on Wednesday, Corbyn’s spokesman restated Labour’s position, as agreed at the party’s conference in Liverpool, that should the government lose the vote and a general election not be called, “all options would be on the table”.
The party intends to hold out for its own plan, involving a permanent customs union and a close relationship with the single market that falls short of full membership. Despite McDonnell’s warm words, Labour is expected to resist demands for a second referendum unless all other options have been exhausted. However, he said: “We do not regard no deal as any kind of option,” and he declined to set out any others, aside from trying to rally parliament behind Labour’s alternative approach.
John McDonnell “The key point is that the option of Labour’s alternative plan has to be on the table, and we believe there is majority support for it in parliament, and it would also command majority support in the country, across both leave and remain voters,” the spokesman said.
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