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Former Labor leader Neil Kinnock privately warned his party colleagues that backing a Brexit deal could be politically “deadly”, saying the prime minister should be made to “own” it.
With the talks entering their crucial final days, opposition parties are pondering whether they will support the government if it achieves a deal and then takes it to the House of Commons.
During the discussion in the WhatsApp group of the Labor colleagues on the subject, Lord Kinnock said: “If the Labor Party supports the ‘agreement’, all our future justified criticisms will be rejected by ‘but you voted for this!’ and, because it will be true, it will be lethal. “
Instead, Kinnock supported the opinion expressed privately by some members of the shadow cabinet, that they would prefer that Labor abstain, a decision that is unlikely to prevent the deal from being reached.
“We must refrain and explain that this is the rational path when faced with a damaging ‘yes’ and a disastrous ‘no’,” Kinnock told his colleagues. “[Boris] Johnson will get his ‘deal’ through the Commons anyway and must OWN the result. “
Cabinet Office officials have been working on a future relations bill that could potentially pass quickly in both houses of parliament should an agreement be reached.
Labor leader Keir Starmer is willing to whip his MPs into voting for it, perhaps after trying to amend the legislation. He believes a no-deal exit would be disastrous and wants to send a message to Brexit voters who rejected the party in last December’s election that Labor has heard them.
But that has raised concerns among some shadow cabinet members and dozens of junior MPs.
The Scottish National Party and the Liberal Democrats have yet to make a final decision on how they will vote, but a concern in Labor seats is the risk that with the critical Holyrood elections looming next year, a vote in favor of a The deal would allow Labor to be grouped together with the Conservatives.
As a Labor leader, Kinnock lost the 1992 general election to John Major, even though the economy had suffered a deep recession.
Kinnock’s intervention is understood to have been part of a lively discussion sparked by a Guardian article written by Peter Mandelson.
Lord Mandelson said: “Boris Johnson is putting Britain at a massive and permanent disadvantage relative to its largest export market.”
He also admitted that he and other advocates of the “popular vote” had made a softer Brexit deal less likely, and urged the Labor Party not to fight over the issue.
The Labor colleagues were approached on Wednesday by Rachel Reeves, the shadow minister in the Cabinet Office, who is communicating with the party on Starmer’s behalf about Brexit and has held a series of meetings with different groups.
Johnson’s approach involves abandoning both the EU single market and the customs union, which will mean a significant increase in red tape.
Starmer urged his MPs to abstain in this week’s vote on coronavirus restrictions, in which more than 50 Conservative MPs opposed their own government’s plans.
Labor wanted to see more business support for areas under the stricter rules and greater powers given to local leaders to determine how their areas are tackling the pandemic.
But Johnson then attacked Starmer during questions from the prime minister on Wednesday. “Captain Hindsight is rising through the ranks and has become General Indecision,” the prime minister said.
Divisions over Brexit haunted Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership. A well-organized side group, as well as several shadow cabinet members, including Starmer, pressed him to reject the Theresa May deal and ultimately accept the need for Labor to back a referendum.
A Lib Dem spokesperson said: “In the last hours before a deadline, we still don’t know which Brexit Boris Johnson will present to MPs and the country. However, the Liberal Democrats have always been clear that we will not vote for any deal that is destructive to British jobs, security or our environment. “
