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Courtesy of the Times
It is rare for a leader of the opposition to have the power to change the course of history but on Brexit that’s precisely what Jeremy Corbyn has. There are enough Tory mutineers prepared to rebel against the prime minister on what they see as a matter of national interest that the Labour leader can defeat the government. Indeed, he already did so last December when Labour joined Conservative pro-Europeans to force Theresa May to give MPs a “meaningful vote” on the final deal. Yet, on so many questions about our future relationship with the EU, Mr Corbyn retains a position of “constructive ambiguity”. It cannot last. With power comes responsibility and the Labour leader’s Janus-faced circumspection on Europe is about to run up against harsh reality.
The House of Lords has voted for Britain to join the European Economic Area and therefore stay in the single market. More than 80 Labour peers defied their leader to support the measure and as many as 70 pro-European Labour MPs are preparing to back the amendment when the EU (Withdrawal) Bill returns to the House of Commons. Mr Corbyn is sticking to his vacuous promise to seek a “new and strong relationship with the single market”, insisting at last week’s meeting of the parliamentary Labour Party that the referendum result must be respected. The expectation is that Labour MPs will be whipped to abstain on the division, which would enable the government to win the vote.
This has serious consequences for Mr Corbyn, however, since it would make him responsible for a hard Brexit that is opposed by the vast majority of his supporters. He would be lining up with Jacob Rees-Mogg and Theresa May against the Trades Union Congress and his Glastonbury fans on an issue that will determine the economic prospects for the country, as well as affecting workers’ rights. One Labour MP, Chris Leslie, has warned that he would “share responsibility for the decade of austerity to come”. Another former minister describes the forthcoming vote as a clarifying moment. “If Corbyn whips his MPs to abstain, it reveals his Euroscepticism. He can make the difference here and he would be choosing not to.”