Labour leader wins battle for Labour’s direction
Jeremy Corbyn has won his battle – which the SKWAWKBOX flagged exclusively earlier today – with internal opponents on the right and left of the Labour Party. In doing so, he has at last brought within sight the prospect of an end to the spectacle of the Tories putting their party and factional interests before the needs of our people.
Boris Johnson’s no-deal Brexit is a material threat to the UK’s wellbeing and would leave the country wide open for Donald Trump and his allies to pillage.
Recent disclosures and Tory resignations have shown that Tory ministers have lied outright to the UK’s people about the shortages and hardships a no-deal Brexit would cause – and about supposed progress in non-existent negotiations – putting it beyond question that Labour must prevent a disastrous no-deal Brexit.
But Labour, with millions of leave voters in its key northern seats, must also respect the democratic result of the 2016 referendum – fighting for the 99% and resisting the attempts of centrists to force it to abandon the 52% who voted to leave.
And Corbyn has won his battle.
“Labour… will put power back in the hands of the people”
Against all the efforts of right- and left-wing MPs who had joined forces to press him, Corbyn has won the agreement of Labour’s National Executive Committee (NEC) that the party’s general election manifesto will include a pledge to agree a new, sensible Labour Brexit deal that places trade with the EU above above the US – but will not contain a pledge to campaign for remain.
The no-deal extremism of the Tories and the revoke extremism of the LibDems has opened up a gaping ‘sanity gap‘ in UK politics that Labour must occupy – and is. As Corbyn said in an op-ed piece published in the Guardian tonight:
The Liberal Democrats want MPs to overturn the referendum result by revoking Article 50 in a parliamentary stitch-up. The Tories are risking a reckless No Deal.
Only a vote for Labour will deliver a public vote on Brexit. And only a Labour government will put the power back into the hands of the people.
Corbyn has achieved a historic victory on behalf of the many today – and with its revolutionary package of policies it is placed to deliver a historic victory for the people on a national scale in the coming general election.
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To push for a public vote is fine – will Johnson agree to it??? but to campaign for Leave is stupidity of the first order.
“but will not contain a pledge to campaign for remain.
You may not have noticed but an actual commitment to campaign for leave is notable by its absence. So I guess when it’s all said and done all this talk of prevailing and winning against the odds really boils down to Corbyn going for the sensible ‘Wilson option’.
SteveH, I was going by what Skwawky said earlier, either he was just spinning or the final position has been changed under pressure. It would be nice if Skwawky could give us the full story.
Jack T 17/09/2019 at 8:33 pm.
I suggest you read the Guardian article that Skwawkbox quotes as his source and draw your own conclusions.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/sep/17/corbyn-vows-to-put-sensible-brexit-deal-to-voters-in-referendum
There is often a reason why people don’t provide a link to their source material.
As said – it was a ratshit story, worthy of the Sun or Mail. Bit daft complaining of the media and then coming up with something like that
Actually the stap line is ‘No Change’.
As others have said – beyond that, Wilson’s compromise is probably the best way to tackle any vote. The emphasis needs to be on a proper referendum as the only sane way forward, rather than the Party adopting a specific position.
Jack’s unhappy, as are the other constant Remainer Trolls – so this Skwawkbox report is very welcome for that alone.
But this latest NEC position (as reported by Skwawkbox at least) , raises some serious issues for future Shadow Cabinet discipline. To name but some senior names – eg, Kier Starmer, John McDonnell, Diane Abbott, Emily Thornberry, and Barry Gardiner, (never mind Watson) all of whom over the last few months have stated across the MSM that they would campaign for a REMAIN option in a second referendum, regardless of what Labour negotiated. Are they all somehow going to recant, or be sacked if they don’t ? They should be.
Secondly, the hard Remainer position is apparently awash in Conference motions from branches. If , as unfortunately seems possible, Conference rejects the new NEC/Corbyn line, where does this ‘new , clarified’ line stand then ? We can hope that the Trade Union/Socialist societies bloc is able to prevent the Left Liberal pro Remainer fanatics amongst our activists from lumping Labour with a suicidal Remain policy position. This is possible, given the 50% of votes held by this bloc, but do the unions themselves have the group solidarity on a ‘respect the 2016 Brexit vote’ to pull it off ? I hope so.
And what IS the Labour negotiating position on Brexit nowadays, in key controversial areas ? If it includes conceding the continuation of Freedom of Movement (ie, unlimited labour supply) and continuing under a new ‘Customs union arrangement’ some key Single Market competition policy and State Aids rules (which the likes of Starmer is desperate to ‘concede’, because these rules make much of our 2017 mildly Leftish Manifesto impossible to carry out), then its a ‘BRINO’ that will quickly be exposed during the General Election , and piss off our working class voters even more ! Pissed off at Labour pretending they’ll leave the EU – but then ensuring everything will continue as before – particularly the wages and conditions slaughtering impact of unlimited labour supply that is a vital issue for working class voters.
Still, very, very, unfair of me to raise all these vital unresolved issues, and very real potential Conference-based imminent setbacks, it’s like farting in church and disturbing the faithful Corbyn fanboys at prayer, because the pro Corbyn Leftie Liberals on here don’t want to hear this harsh reality, and just want to snuggle up in Skwawkie’s warm upbeat comfort blanket of optimistic spin.
jpenney 17/09/2019 at 11:14 pm
If you’d bothered to read the source article in the Guardian before indulging in another long diatribe you could have saved yourself some time and effort.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/sep/17/corbyn-vows-to-put-sensible-brexit-deal-to-voters-in-referendum
A new Labour deal certainly would not remove the neoliberal content which dominates the EU Treaties and which was faithfully reproduced in Theresa May’s Withdrawal Agreement.
The WA contained ALL the EU provisions giving the EU power to block State Aids and making unrepealable the privatisation of most basic utilities. This would obliterate any socialist economic policy.
Why should the European Commission and the leaders of the Member States agree to remove those things? Those people are absolutely committed neoliberals, and Labour would have taken No Deal off the table so the government would have ZERO bargaining power.
“this Skwawkbox report is very welcome” … keep up, Ha’penny – the story was not a representation of the reality.
… which is probably why you find it ‘welcome’ in your marriage to fantasy.
Stupidity of the first order is thinking that you know better than 17.5 million of your fellow countrymen and women.
If Labour is not democratic it is nothing.
There are 67million people in the uk, remember for the many not the few.
We have literally just watched labour flush there chance at wining the next election live and in real time.
As I’ve asked others, how do you know 17.5 million still want to leave?
By denigrating leave voters remainers have strengthened the leave vote. As we saw at the European elections, which had a low turnout, the remain vote has softened.
It is most likely remain will lose the next referendum very badly.
And it is all thanks to remain trolls like you, SteveH and RH, who go around insulting people. You have made leaving the EU an inevitability.
You have unintentionally defended democracy. Thank you.
The hypocrisy is a joy to observe as it self-demolishes the arch-ERG supporters of the Tory-adopting ‘left’.
As a Remainer, my insults are directed at an entirely stupid *idea*, promulgated by a Tory press and – obviously – influencing them to vote ‘Leave.
Whether that makes the *person* voicing it ‘stupid’ is beyond any knowledge that I have – although ‘gullible’ would fit the evidence. And no, I wouldn’t suggest that a tendency to be older and less well educated would make a person ‘stupid’. But it might go with susceptibility to Tory ideas.
An idea that is exposed and fails after three years of close examination of course, confirms the stupidity of the idea – just like the notion of a flat earth.
… which leaves its adopters with nothing but repetitively chanting ”snot fair!’ and chucking rattles out of the pram – because there is no sustainable argument to be made.
As to the numbers game … even if 100% of the population called a pile of shit ‘icecream’ – it would still be shit. The little boy who ‘undemocratically’ called out the naked king was in a much smaller minority than the Remain vote. And of course, when the ‘democracy’ of the vote is examined, the Leave vote was also a minority opinion.
Anyway – all that aside – let’s just have another vote and see if the ‘Leave’ vote can match the ‘Remain’ vote of the 1970s.
That’s democracy if you like FPTP criteria. Meanwhile feel free to carry on being a Johnson/Farage backer.
Quite correct, bevin.
But the logic amongst the weirdos here is that their 70% of the membership will carry them over the 17.4 million threshold.
Going on the ref result they’d still be 1million short even though those members what support remain probably all voted that way anyway so their figures cannot be counted twice (Although they count non-voters as remainers so don’t put it past them)
They obviously KNOW the feelings of the public at large and that remain will garner enough votes, but reports from all corners of the political spectrum suggest that people are so hacked off they will vote leave just to make certain the matters settled.
Remain has at least 1.4 million votes to make up and public opinion doesn’t reflect the consensus has changed that much.
Nowt ukip or commie or nervous breakdown about that. Just simple number crunching.
Oh dear, Toff – you miss the essential point. Let’s just see – that’s what the policy is.
Or is that too much ‘democracy’ for you?
If a majority still choose the Tory stupid suicide option – so be it. Nothing alters.
We’ve already seen what democracy’s said, you klutz.
I really can’t be arsed going over the same tired rehashed shit you come out with, because I KNOW the answer I’d give you now would have you respond with the fucking imbecilic and repeated (ad nauseam to the point of mental torture): ‘But ‘X’ amount DIDN’T vote to leave.’
You have flogged more dead horses than dodgy romanian abbatoirs have to tesco. ALL – and I mean ALL your arguments RE remain hold as much weight as a lena zavaroni left hook and have been proved so, time after time.
Bottom line:
52>48
17>16
72% turnout
Don’t vote don’t count
.
You can’t change your mind about getting a government elected and then have anothergenral election before someone’s got through the door of #10. Same applies with brexit. It has not been implemented so there cannot be another vote ‘To see if people have changed their mind’
These things I’ve mentioned are FACTS. They are NOT conjecture. Deal with them. For fuck’s sake deal with them and ACCEPT leave won the argument.
But will not contain a pledge to campaign for remain.
That is me sorted, i can go for that.
I have no problem with a re-run and while unhappy that the sensible option will not be supported I can live with it.
However any sign that we become a *spit* Brexit party alongside the BNP,UKIP,Brexit Party or the fuckin Tories and Corbyn can shove my membership card up his arse sideways.
I have a bad feeling that the PLP just gave Corbyn enough rope to hang himself by reinforcing the Corbyns a brexiteer claim. Chances are that even by now that the Limpdims are thanking the heavens after there abysmal few days that Corbyn just took the heat of them and have gifted them the remain vote. By the time we get to conference the members could by trying to get rid of Corbyn as a liability and a liar given he was supposed to be honouring the last conference motion. So much for bringing democracy back to the party.
Even this article is going to be mana from heaven for the MSM and labours detractors as it actually hi lights what Labour don’t support but not what they stand for or in this case what they still sit on the fence for with the post lodged well up there arse.
Will C
There is no evidence that LibDems are a threat to Labour and equally even less evidence that Labour leavers will vote Tory
Where have you been over the past year, Doug?Have a look at he moving average of polls.
RH
Definition of insanity is putting any faith in polls, if I had the money I could buy one myself,
Can you remember the crash in 2007, where were the rating agencies and what do they have in common with pollsters
Doug – it’s not a question of ‘faith’ – it’s using the best evidence available. I think you are operating on ‘faith’, and wilfully confusing ratings agencies with ‘polls’, and – to suit the narrative – dismissing all polls as ‘fixes’.
… which indicates that the situation is massively febrile, but that, in terms of probabilities, a Labour majority *at present* is highly unlikely.
It will be your attitude that will destroy the chance of a labour government vote either Lib dem or Brexit you will get Tory’s don’t vote you will get the Tory’s I voted leave and have changed my mind but the most important thing for me is not Brexit it is Education NHS the homeless I pass every day on the streets the treatment of the disabled and sick zero hour contracts and plenty more when it’s gone it’s gone so rather than rant about how you want things stop and put your brain into gear if you don’t want another 5 years like the last 9 .
“the most important thing for me is not Brexit it is Education NHS the homeless I pass every day on the streets the treatment of the disabled and sick zero hour contracts and plenty more”
You are absolutely right.
However, Brexit will define the resources that the country has to address those key problems. It is not a separate issue.
Very well put, Poppy!
I strongly recommend that others read the full article if they wish to get a clearer perspective of what is happening. Quotes are from the Guardian article that Skwawkbox highlighted.
Corbyn said
“A Labour government would secure a sensible deal based on the terms we have long advocated, including a new customs union with the EU; a close single market relationship; and guarantees of workers’ rights and environmental protections,” he said. “We would then put that to a public vote against remain, and I pledge to carry out whatever the people decide, as a Labour prime minister.”
His comments are the strongest sign yet that Corbyn would stay out of campaigning in a second referendum on a Labour-negotiated Brexit deal and pitch himself as the neutral referee who pledges to carry out whatever the public decides.
This would help avoid the situation David Cameron found himself in as prime minister in 2016, when he resigned from No 10 after ending up on the losing side.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/sep/17/corbyn-vows-to-put-sensible-brexit-deal-to-voters-in-referendum
Here comes the Sanity Clause
Do the maths, listen to Bonnie Prince Charlie on QT, the country is screaming out to get this over with,
Brextremists on both sides can get to fuck, the GE will take out No Deal 80/20 and the referendum will take out No Brexit 80/20
Oldest populist right wing trick in the book- nurture the baby ‘Let’s get it over with’ trope in the electorate.
Actually – it’s proof positive that a large proportion of the electorate never grasped wht Brexit entails.
Post a copy of Yellowhammer to em all !
52/48
What’s changed
” but will not contain a pledge to campaign for remain.”
At last some progress.
Remain shouldn’t be on a ballot either, we did that in 2016 but I suspect it will be on any LP ballot or “will not include a ‘pledge to campaign for remain” is an unnecessary inclusion… bit sly and disingenuous if you ask me but I realize few in LP care what an oft called (by extreme EURef result deniers) racist, ignorant,m gullible oldster like me thinks, probably only sad I haven’t fallen off the twig yet as I note many are celebrating the demise of Grandpas and Grandmas and cheering the old enough to vote now trendy ‘woke’ gen.
There really is a very nasty and closed minded aspect to the modern liberal left.
Now what will conference do or has it to accept this as NEC have approved it?
Anyone know Labours deal or opinion regarding EU military unification and what it means for UK citizens?
‘regarding EU military unification ‘
UK has a veto.
On what?
Thank God he’s won that , besides the obvious issue at hand , a loss would have weakened his position and emboldened the RW bastards like Twatson.
Onwards to the doorstep canvassing with hope in me heart,, I can talk around that policy .
Well done Jeremy this exactly what we needed. We might, just might not only save the 158 MP’s in leave areas but gain more from the Tories!
At last it’s beginning to be democratic socialism. Thank you to all the NEC backing the Labour Party.
Apparently it’s not all that happened today. Anyone got an update on this
New ‘Politburo’ Plan To Allow Labour’s NEC To Seize Control If Corbyn Suddenly Quits
Critics say proposal aimed at sidelining Tom Watson in an emergency. Backers say rules need clarity.
Labour’s ruling body is drafting fresh emergency plans to allow it to take temporary control of the party if Jeremy Corbyn should suddenly quit as leader.
A paper on ‘the role of the Acting Leader’ of the party is set to be discussed at the National Executive Committee (NEC) hearing on Tuesday in an apparent bid to clip the wings of deputy leader Tom Watson
https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/fresh-politburo-plan-to-allow-labours-nec-to-seize-control-if-jeremy-corbyn-suddenly-quits_uk_5d80a692e4b03b5fc8894b19
I’ve read the article that Jeremy Corbyn used the guardian to print (that’s all they’re good for under socialism-hating editor, Katharine Viner) and I truly marvel at how well Jeremy is containing the RW threat from Watson et al.
The austerity-enabling libdems’ cynical electoral positioning suddenly seem shoddy when contrasted with Corbyn’s sagacity and principle.
It is also exactly the right thing for the next-PM to say in order to encourage closed, weary minds that become impatient and combative on EU participation and partnership to re-examine the options and open themselves to the possibilities.
JC4PM
Sanity Clause 2
Methinks JC has already made it clear he will do a Harold and give free vote to party in referendum,
Policy has changed very little for over two years, whilst the brextremists of No Deal and No Brexit sell their souls to the 20%
Sanity Clause 2
The Conference in Liverpool voted on a motion that became LABOUR PARTY POLICY ie “with all other options exhausted – the Labour Party would campaign for remain in a people’s vote’.
When was that policy changed??
SparkyBadger 17/09/2019 at 11:27 pm
Not quite
https://labourlist.org/2018/09/labours-brexit-composite-motion-in-full/
Thank you SteveH for the composite wording. SparkyBadger seems to have misremembered the detail
Corbyn remaining neutral while allowing MP’s to campaign for Labour’s deal or remain is good politics – in his place I’d also make it plain that Labour MP’s who spread the kind of arrant propaganda that’s gone before can expect repercussions.
David At last some great tactics by an old hand,Jeremy holds the party together and readys us for a General election….great 👍 result!
He has made the one move that knocks the legs from under Watson – far more effective than simply bellyaching about him.
Sorry comrades but Labour already committed electoral suicide by the party leader caving in to the demand for a second referendum over the summer.
Whether Labour officially supports Remain (thereby making ludicrously pointless its “negotiation” of a withdrawal deal) or whether Labour figures are each all allowed to go their individual ways (i.e. overwhelmingly pro-Remain), is small beer compared to the decision to support a second referendum in order to negate the first referendum. Doing so meant reneging on our commitment to respect the Referendum result, a pledge on which 85 per cent of the House of Commons was elected.
Not implementing the EU referendum result is a kick in the teeth to the 17.4 million people who voted Leave. As such it has ruinous consequences for Labour’s prospects.
In terms of general elections the Leave vote has a far greater electoral power than the (highly concentrated) Remain vote. 406 constituencies voted Leave, 242 Remain. Some 61% of Labour seats voted Leave. Most importantly 70 per cent of the Labour-Tory marginal target seats voted Leave. Without winning those target seats we cannot win the election, yet we have told the Leave voters in 70 per cent of those seats that they are so stupid that they will have to vote again. Why should those people vote Labour now that it has held them in such utter contempt?
Danny, you base your conclusions on the assumption that an insufficient number of voters have changed their mind to alter the result of the referendum. How do you know that?
“we have told the Leave voters in 70 per cent of those seats that they are so stupid that they will have to vote again.”
Of course this is Leaver’s spin to divide the country, it’s been the Leave tactics from the start, ‘we’ have done no such thing. All that’s been done is to suggest that voters are asked, now that they are more aware of the consequences, if they want to stick to their original choice. In a proper democracy, people are allowed to change their mind.
You seem to be happy that the electorate made their choice in the referendum based upon the lies and misinformation heaped upon them by the leave side, using money provided by Ahron Banks and others who said they didn’t use facts to win, they used emotion.
https://www.europeanlawmonitor.org/eu-referendum-topics/the-eu-referendum-result-has-no-democratic-legitimacy-at-all.html
Jack T , predictably spewing out that Mandelson (and Guardian) scripted line claiming that masses of Leave Voters have changed their minds. Where was there any evidence of this exhibited in the so-recent EU MEP elections , Jack ? After only a month or two in existence that opportunist bunch of chancers in The Brexit Party won TWENTY NINE seats, laddie – the biggest share of the vote – with FOURTEEN in our Labour heartland areas – covering a large number of individual Labour seats ! This in fact shows that the Leaver vote is not only solid , but GROWING , you troll nincompoop ! The Remain Trolls should have thought up another bogus line by now – other than simply ignoring the so-recent EU MEP elections !
Too true, Danny. It is I suppose just about possible that significant numbers of our Leave-supporting Labour voters might grudgingly buy into a Labour “it’s just a confirmatory vote, folks , NOT a Second Referendum really – honest “, counter-reality spin line . Our always gullible Left Liberal ‘Corbynistas’ in the main seem to have fallen for the new ‘line’ on this site at least ! But I doubt that blatantly reneging on the 2017 Manifesto commitment to “respect the Referendum result” , by all elected Labour MPs, (and the recent declarations that they will support Remain no matter what , by key Shadow Cabinet figures), will allow this fudge to do the trick in enough numbers to rescue Labour from the stark reality your post highlights , namely, to repeat those crucial stats AGAIN, for the politically obtuse but very likely Left Liberal majority of Delegates at Conference who are just about to fuck up our one chance , ever, of a Left (ish) Wing led government in the UK:
The Remainer versus Leaver voter constituency distribution problem for Labour
“The Leave vote has a far greater electoral power than the (highly concentrated) Remain vote. 406 constituencies voted Leave, 242 Remain. Some 61% of Labour seats voted Leave. Most importantly 70 per cent of the Labour-Tory marginal target seats voted Leave. Without winning those target seats we cannot win the election.”
But never mind those harsh electoral realities; our overwhelmingly middle class Left Liberal majority of fanatically pro EU younger Delegates will continue (whilst posturing emptily about their vaccuous ‘internationalism’) to value their continued easy access to sightseeing and the ski slopes, and mummy and daddy’s holiday cottages, on the continent, and that so-useful free health care if they take a tumble on those slopes, and opportunities for those jobs and internships on the EU bureaucracy gravy train, over securing a Left Labour government. And those dirt-cheap Uber taxis, and slave labour delivery drivers who deliver all that Amazon stuff so cheaply, that unlimited labour supply alone facilitates, are just so much more important than creating a state-led planning-led mixed economy free of the EU neoliberal straightjacket.
jpenney, It’s quite obvious that you are terrified of people expressing ‘informed consent’ in another vote in case the decision is reversed. You, just like Danny, are content to see people being hoodwinked just as long as it suits your Leave cause.
“significant numbers of our Leave-supporting Labour voters ”
… you mean the small numbers of Labour voters that voted ‘Leave’, I take it.
Get used to it, Ha’penny – the majority of Leave voters were Tory supporters. Sorry if that contradicts your myth of the working class being mainly Labour voters. About half vote Tory.
So a few facts :
(1) There is no majority among Labour voters for ‘Leave’
(2) There is no majority among working class Labour voters for ‘Leave’
(3) Labour support depends crucially on a combined working/middle class vote rather than your mickey-mouse pseudo-Marxism distortion of reality about ” ski slopes, and mummy and daddy’s holiday cottages”. Only a total twerp would come up with that sort of garbage (which also usually goes with patronising group caricatures of ‘*the* working class’
It was good to hear Corbyn outlining Labour’s position today.
At last – and despite attempts to make it not so – it held together as an intellectually coherent position that only trolls and entryists would try to deny.
It blew Swinson out of the water in offering a clear choice, and making the inveterate ‘Leaver’ position looking what it is – plain stupid. Particularly amusing is the ‘one and only referendum result’ ploy – when this was actually the second referendum.
Given that Labour made some initial bad moves way back, this is a good platform to launch an election campaign from, as long as a referendum position isn’t whipped when push comes to shove.
Any rattles out of the pram can be ignored.
Unusually, I watched the Andrew Neil show this evening.
It was pleasing to see him demolish the ConDem spokesperson without breaking sweat (or wind) – and see him discomfited by Andy McDonald’s solid refusal to bow to the media agenda over Labour’s attitude to Brexit.
At last, Labour has a coherent and defensible position.
I appreciate this is off subject but does anyone know –
What is the total number of union members who have affiliate membership of the Labour Party?
(a link to the source would be appreciated)
Apparently Stephen Kinnock and Caroline Flint are meeting Michel Barnier in Brussels today (Thursday 19th),