All attention is turning to Labour's National Executive Committee which meets later today to thrash out their strategy for the European elections in May (HERE). In the past nobody would have had the slightest interest in these sort of arcane meetings to discuss what does or doesn't go in to the party's manifesto. And in truth, nobody is interested now in anything other than the question of a confirmatory vote and whether or not Labour will make an explicit commitment to put the final deal to the people.
Looked at from outside this country, the whole debate on the second vote must seem ridiculous. Who could possibly have a principled objection to testing that the final deal is indeed in line with the wishes of the people?
If Brexiteers in the government and opposition are so certain they are carrying out the will of the people there can be no justification for NOT giving us a confirmatory vote. Either they are certain, in which case a confirmatory referendum is the obvious and easy choice, or they are not. In which case, there is even more reason to check the majority is not being railroaded into a disaster by a minority.
Even the most ardent leave voters surely would not want the nation to accept a deal that cannot gain the support of a substantial majority. It is not a sustainable foundation for the future.
Mrs May steadfastly refuses to offer a second vote, which might be understandable (just) given the Eurosceptic element in her own party. Jeremy Corbyn in my opinion has no such excuse. His own deputy, party members, activists, MPs and most of the Trade Unions that back him are hugely in favour of a second vote, yet he has been just as half-hearted about a second vote as he was in the 2016 referendum. He seems often to be a man with no passion for anything except to oppose poverty and injustice - something we can all be AGAINST. You sometimes have to be FOR something.
Leaders of both parties are leaders in name only. They cannot or dare not lead for fear of the public backlash from leavers so they stubbornly refuse to move off the fence until they can see which side is the more popular. This is not leadership.
I am genuinely surprised Corbyn cannot bring himself to 'sell' a second referendum, even in the areas which voted leave most strongly in 2016. It would:
- Look like the action of a leader if not a statesman
- Clarify the will of the people.
- Confirm the agreement is indeed what people expected in 2016 - or not.
- Possibly close the issue and silence we remoaners for a generation at least.
Of course, a confirmatory vote may be a narrow win for remain, but this does not put us in any worse position than we are right now. The nation is badly divided and desperately in need of leadership. At the very least it would help to shape the future direction of policy. You can never have enough information about public opinion, certainly not on such a vital issue.
This all comes amid murmurings of 'progress' in the talks between Labour and the government (HERE) with some suggestions the government might even have shifted position on it's opposition to a permanent customs union. How far this will get remains to be seen - talks are said to be continuing.
For more than two years both government and opposition have had a policy of fulfilling Brexit - in one form or another. They have had total control of the agenda but the public opinion needle has not shifted decisively towards leaving the EU. It has moved in the opposite direction. Swing voters, those without a real opinion on Europe who may have voted to remain, have not switched to supporting leave, mostly the reverse has happened.
Think what could happen if both sides got wholeheartedly behind remain.
If Labour's NEC do decide unequivocally to back a second vote, the European elections in May, and possibly even the local council elections this week, will become an important indicator of how the policy is being received. At the very least Labour activists would have a clear strategy to explain and defend on the doorsteps rather than the government's wishy-washy Micawber-like policy of hoping something will turn up.
So, today will be fascinating. Can Labour save the country? It may be the day when we begin to see Brexit collapsing. If we do get the opportunity of a second vote, we cannot afford to fail. A big majority, close to 60%, for staying in the EU must be our objective,
Every remainer should do all they can to avoid a second leave victory. That really would be a catastrophe.
