[ad_1]
The shadow cabinet is divided on whether to back a Brexit deal, as Labor MPs warn that up to 60 could rebel if Keir Starmer insists they back the government rather than allow a free vote.
Two indirect MPs said the possibility of a reorganization in the first instance, and new shadow ministerial positions, was raised when the issue came up in discussions with Starmer’s office, as a way to contain possible rebels.
Those in the shadow cabinet who have presented arguments in favor of abstaining from the vote, including the shadow chief secretary of the Treasury, Bridget Phillipson, the shadow secretary of equality, Marsha de Cordova, and the secretary of commerce Shadow international Emily Thornberry, according to multiple sources. Shadow justice secretary David Lammy is torn, one source said, “between his heart and his head.”
Those who have stressed the need to vote for a deal are said to include Angela Rayner, the deputy leader, and Lisa Nandy, the shadow foreign secretary.
A shadow cabinet source said that Shadow Chancellor Anneliese Dodds, a former MEP who represents the majority remaining Oxford East headquarters, was also in favor of abstention. But an ally of Dodds insisted that she had not made a decision yet and would judge any deal on its merits and compare it to promises made by ministers.
“If there is a deal, you will want to go through it with a fine tooth comb, this is how it works. She will make a decision based on the evidence in front of her, ”the source said.
In a speech at Bloomberg on Wednesday, Dodds made it clear that Labor was skeptical of any Brexit deal. “It is not a foregone conclusion that we will come up with a deal … If we succeed, media reports suggest it will be as thin as mush,” he said.
Shadow cabinet sources said resignations at the head table are unlikely. “There have been healthy discussions about how to proceed from here. Ultimately, no one disagrees that the division between leaving and staying is over, but we have to show that we are serious about advancing as a party and as a nation, “said a source.
Another source in the shadow cabinet said there was “only a difference of opinion on what is best, both now and in trying to predict the future.”
Most of those involved in the disagreement have long-standing views on the issue: The only person who has made an obvious conversion is the Labor leader himself, it was claimed.
However, there is more widespread anger among secondary MPs, dozens of whom may be prepared to break the whip if Starmer orders them to back the deal, The Guardian has been told. MPs confronted their party leader on the issue in a private meeting on Wednesday and some now believe the leadership may be more open to the idea of abstaining or allowing free voting.
Those likely to resist voting for a deal will likely span ideological divisions in the party, from new left MPs unwilling to back a deal with Boris Johnson to metropolitan MPs, veterans of the People’s Vote campaign.
Labor say Starmer’s team has been surprised by the scale of concern within the party, especially the hostile reaction to the rumor that former Darlington MP Jenny Chapman, now a high-ranking member of Starmer’s staff, was coordinating a letter from the Labor Party. The deputies say the party should back an agreement.
The tipping point is likely to be the shadow cabinet meeting next Tuesday, a day after the ruling national executive committee meets to finalize the party’s response to the equality watchdog’s report on anti-Semitism.
The left-wing pro-European lobby group Another Europe is Possible is mobilizing a grassroots lobbying campaign to oppose the vote, with a few thousand letters to MPs and members’ leadership.
