Will Corbyn withdraw support for #Brexit as May’s plan would harm the people of the UK?

Jeremy Corbyn has clashed with Theresa May over her Brexit plans – why not declare outright opposition to them as they do not represent the spirit in which British people voted to leave the EU? [Image: BBC.]

Normally This Site would not give any credibility to a newspaper story generated by unnamed sources. Such sources usually exist only in the mind of the reporter.

But there is definitely an question about Labour’s response to Theresa May’s Brexit plan. The responses to my recent survey on Jeremy Corbyn’s policies showed that his policy on the UK’s departure from the EU is out-of-step with the opinions of many people.

And now we know Theresa May’s plan, this is the perfect time for Mr Corbyn to change that policy, for a very simple reason:

The Conservative plan for Brexit will harm the people of the United Kingdom.

No responsible Opposition leader should support policies that harm the population.

Nobody can argue that the people voted for a plan that would harm them – because nobody ever chooses to hurt themselves for no very good reason. Right?

So – if he chooses to do so, Mr Corbyn can say that, while Labour accepts the will of the people to leave the European Union, it opposes the plan put forward by Theresa May and demands that she put forward a better one.

But will he do it?

Several members of Jeremy Corbyn’s shadow cabinet are considering refusing to vote for a bill triggering article 50, amid widespread concern among Labour MPs about the party’s response to Brexit.

With the government expected to table legislation giving it the power to start the formal divorce process with the EU as soon as next Wednesday, if, as expected, it loses the Supreme Court appeal, Labour MPs are in disarray about how to respond.

Four shadow cabinet ministers, including close Corbyn loyalists, and several more junior frontbenchers, have told the Guardian that they are agonising about whether to back the party line of what one called “waving through” article 50, in what could prove the first real test of new chief whip Nick Brown’s powers of persuasion.

Source: Shadow cabinet MPs ‘considering’ voting against article 50 | Politics | The Guardian

Join the Vox Political Facebook page.

If you have appreciated this article, don’t forget to share it using the buttons at the bottom of this page. Politics is about everybody – so let’s try to get everybody involved!

Vox Political needs your help!
If you want to support this site
(
but don’t want to give your money to advertisers)
you can make a one-off donation here:

Donate Button with Credit Cards

Buy Vox Political books so we can continue
fighting for the facts.


The Livingstone Presumption is now available
in either print or eBook format here:

HWG PrintHWG eBook

Health Warning: Government! is now available
in either print or eBook format here:

HWG PrintHWG eBook

The first collection, Strong Words and Hard Times,
is still available in either print or eBook format here:

SWAHTprint SWAHTeBook

11 Comments

  1. Neilth January 19, 2017 at 12:33 pm - Reply

    While the result of the referendum gave a small majority to those voting leave, the motivation of people on all sides is still unclear. Some voted on personal grounds due to their own status in the U.K., from my investigation many voted on racist grounds believing that the control of borders meant stopping black and Asian people coming to the uk others voted from a misunderstanding of what ‘full’ means in terms of the capacity of the British isles. Many voted out of fear of certain religious groups or the terror organisations often associated with them the list of reasons is endless.

    Labours problem is that no clear picture of our position has been agreed on and we are consequently putting out an unclear, conditional set of statements.

    We need to be clear and forceful and spell out our position. There is no doubt that people coming to the UK to work benefits the country as a whole, they provide the staff that keeps the NHS and the care system running to the benefit of the aging population and they pay the taxes to maintain it. Losing them will lead to the collapse of public medecine and loss of care for our elderly and infirm.

    Leaving the single market will drive out multinational companies who have invested here because we offer a skilled tariff free platform into Europe from which they could export etc and with the financial structures to attract further growth and investment etc.

    The present leadership need to spell out the Labour Party position and our core beliefs in simple, clear terms that the electorate can understand. We need to ‘shout more loudly’ and consistently push unambiguous messages or we will never recover our electoral chances.

  2. NMac January 19, 2017 at 1:07 pm - Reply

    I certainly hope that he does start to oppose the Tories on the nonsense that is so-called “Brexit” – which is nothing more than a battle for the leadership of the Tory Party. (I almost said “heart and soul” of the Tory Party, but of course as it doesn’t have either that wouldn’t have made sense).

  3. Manish Dyall (@DyallManish) January 19, 2017 at 2:01 pm - Reply

    No, Corbyn won’t. That’s what I’m predicting. I suppose it’s time to vote lib dem now.

    • Mike Sivier January 19, 2017 at 2:40 pm - Reply

      Why? Their claim to be the “party of Remain” is a lie because they cannot do anything about it.

  4. Harvey Lloyd January 19, 2017 at 2:17 pm - Reply

    It is right that we oppose Conservative proposals and policies, as Corbyn does – they are all put together to support their friends and multimillionaire supporters, as May’s words yesterday proved. They are not likely to bring about improved working conditions, or the working class in the UK. Your theory does demand that Corbyn puts forward an alternative. He needs to speak more for the 48% who voted to stay in – and bring out the impossibility of her way forward, Harvey Lloyd

    • Barry Davies January 19, 2017 at 5:28 pm - Reply

      May was very clever in her wording, it destroyed gina millars anti democratic attempts to keep us in the eu, and showed that we are not going to take a substandard offer from the eu unelected mandarins.

    • Manish Dyall (@DyallManish) January 19, 2017 at 2:31 pm - Reply

      I seem to have made an accurate prediction.

      • Harvey Lloyd January 19, 2017 at 3:47 pm - Reply

        That reads BAD NEWS for all – but particularly for Corbyn. He needs more guidance… Harvey Lloyd

      • Barry Davies January 19, 2017 at 5:29 pm - Reply

        More guidance for what Harvey? how to ignore democracy in line with the eu basic behaviour?

  5. aunty1960 January 19, 2017 at 6:30 pm - Reply

    I Voted Brexit, and I did because I agreed with Jeremy Corbyn’s line as an unelected unaccountable mafia cartel and for Tory and Capital and Business reasons. Because it shackles and binds our and any business potential and freedom to just get on with it.

    The actual mirage of positives and rights and Human Rights and Employment rights is all a myth. as it is impossible to get there, will take many years to get to a EU court and forget that none of its decisions are binding. so waste of fricken time.

    also although they splash the money about in subsidies and regeneration schemes town disintegrate while more and more empty offices and business estate are built while true business is destroyed and goes to the wall.

    and farmers might get mega subsidies, but many of them say they would rather be allowed to farm and do what they are there for, and also they create produce, get the EU payment and then told to dump it – fruit, veg, meat, milk, or contribute to the huge food mountains of EU and we have to accept low grade produce from EU countries and their standards, while our farmers and farms are destroyed.

    acres and acres of fruit orchard hundreds of years old destroyed and ploughed up because of EU. Farmers wont farm because EU messes them about. There are no more mushroom farms round where I am, although there used to be several, ALL BECAUSE OF YOUR BLESSED EU AND GOVT AND GLOBAL CORPORATE STUPIDITY.

    My advise is this, don’t ask a socialist, politician or blogger or journalist, ask the ones who do it.

    But then socialists and Labour like to say how they hate business and farmers. what are you going to be left with? Socialists? Artists? Students? and professional bloggers and commentators.

Leave A Comment