Pressure is building in Momentum and the unions for a 'People's Vote' on the Brexit deal.
Labour have undeniably shifted on Brexit in the last couple of years. From backing a customs union to supporting something-like-a-single-market, pressure from Remain campaigners has been paying off.
Indeed, Labour have already signalled they are likely to vote against Theresa May’s Brexit deal. But much of that pressure has been coming from the centre of the party.
What would happen if the left of the party – previously quiet on the issue for fear of rocking the boat – got properly organised against leaving the EU?
That may be starting to happen.
The TSSA transport union made waves by becoming the first Labour-linked union to back the People’s Vote campaign last weekend. Prospect, the Royal College of Nurses, and the National Union of Students also support the campaign.
And now a petition has been launched by Momentum activist Alena Ivanova, urging an internal referendum on a ‘people’s vote’ on the Brexit deal.
Around 4,000 signatures are needed to trigger a vote in Momentum on an issue. Nearly 1,500 members have signed the motion in a few days.
The statement says:
“We are proud members of Momentum and consistent supporters of Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership of the Labour Party and of the 2017 election manifesto. We deplore the persistent attacks of the right-wing of the Labour Party and their attempts to weaponise the issue of Brexit against our party leadership.
“But we are equally opposed to the Tory Brexit now on offer. It is a disaster for working class people, public services, peace in Ireland, migrants, the environment, human rights, jobs and our children’s futures – the complete opposite of everything a socialist government would do. The so-called soft Brexit being pushed by neo-liberal “centrists” is hardly better: it threatens to turn us into a vassal state of Europe, making us rule takers not rule makers.
“We call for a vote of all Momentum members this summer to decide whether to oppose Tory Brexit, and whether to campaign for Labour to hold a vote at Annual Conference in September on giving the people the final say on the Brexit deal.
It comes amid growing frustration that it is figures on the centre/right of the party who are leading the Brexit debate.
In an email to supporters of Another Europe is Possible backing the petition, Guardian columnist Zoe Williams wrote:
“It’s long past time for the left to get off the sidelines, take a stand and face down the right-wing wreckers and the pipe-dreaming Lexiteers. For god’s sake, we can’t let the loudest anti-Brexit voices be ineffectual neo-liberals like Chuka Umunna and Chris Leslie…
“Only a flood of left-wing grassroots pressure can mobilise Momentum and Labour to stop Brexit before it’s too late.”
TSSA General Secretary Manuel Cortes wrote: “TSSA Conference last week mandated us to campaign for a referendum an any deal Brexit deal agreed by the Conservative Government. Our union remains wholeheartedly committed to Labour’s Manifesto for the many.”
The union is hosting a ‘People Before Brexit’ rally this Thursday, alongside other left-wing, anti-Brexit organisations.
Leading Labour campaigners also donned ‘Bollocks to Brexit‘ stickers and held signs at ‘Labour Live’ over the weekend.
Could the balance be shifting towards Jeremy Corbyn backing a fresh vote on Brexit?…
Josiah Mortimer is Editor of Left Foot Forward. Follow him on Twitter.
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