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Courtesy of the Times.
The Labour Party remains divided over the details of Britain’s exit from the EU, in spite of recent attempts to clarify its position and unify MPs, the shadow Brexit secretary admitted today. Sir Keir Starmer said that the opposition party had been riven by Brexit, and divisions old and new had become more entrenched at every stage of the process.
The main Brexit tribes in Labour can be classified as: Eurosceptic socialists
Brexit-sympathising socialists regard the EU as a neo-liberal capitalist club and have been around for as long as the union has existed. Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell have long been sceptical of the EU, with Mr Corbyn saying that he has “long opposed the embedding of free market orthodoxy and the democratic deficit in the European Union”. Mr Corbyn went quiet on his reservations when he became leader, prompting accusations by Leave-supporting Labour MPs that he had abandoned his “natural and historic” position over Europe. The pro-Corbyn grassroots campaign group Momentum helped to block a potentially embarrassing vote on the single market at last year’s Labour Party conference and are keen to rally round the leader, whatever his Brexit line. The veteran Labour MP Dennis Skinner believes that the union is undemocratic and claims to have voted against every EU treaty over his 48 years in parliament. Others of this tribe include Ronnie Campbell and Kelvin Hopkins, who co-chaired Labour Leave but at present has had the Labour whip suspended while allegations of sexual harassment are investigated. Mr Campbell said: “I am a leaver, and I always have been. MPs are elected unlike the EU bureaucrats, and if people don’t like how MPs vote then they can get rid of us and that’s how it should work.”
Non-Marxist Brexiteers
The poster-child for this tribe is Kate Hoey, a fierce Brexiteer who voted against the Maastricht and Lisbon treaties and believes that Eurosceptism has a natural home on the left. These types have been around since the beginning of the EU, and often point to Clement Attlee’s opposition to joining the Common Market as evidence of the centre left’s long-standing Eurosceptic potential. Kate Hoey campaigned with Nigel Farage for Brexit. Hoey faced flack for declaring that the Good Friday agreement was “unsustainable”, and was compared to Donald Trump after saying that if there were to be any border with Ireland, they would have to pay for it. Frank Field is another prominent Brexiteer and a firm believer of stronger immigration rules. He previously said he hoped that Brexit would encourage social democratic parties to “rise up against the existing EU model” across the continent. Ms Hoeysaid: “Labour MPs must rediscover the spirit of Clement Attlee. Attlee opposed the UK joining the Common Market, which he viewed as an inward-looking, protectionist club.”
The ‘Shinys’
“Shiny” is the moniker given by some Labour MPs to identify their fervently pro-EU colleagues, supposedly referring to their love of the limelight. For many Labour MPs who were passionately in favour of EU membership, the referendum result only entrenched their beliefs. Chuka Umunna is one of those who has been accused of loving the limelight over their EU position. The Shinys have been fired up ever since, trying to shape Labour’s Brexit policy, and they have not shied away from rebelling against the party. The group is led by Chuka Umunna, who tabled an amendment last year demanding explicitly that the UK should remain in the single market and the customs union. Daniel Zeichner, Andy Slaughter, Catherine West and Ruth Cadbury all gave up their positions on the Labour frontbench to vote in favour of the amendment. This tribe also includes second referendum backers, such as Mr Zeicher and Ms West, as well as David Lammy, Geraint Davies and Ben Bradshaw.