Labour could pass two contradictory Brexit positions on Monday following a showdown on the conference floor that could deepen divisions over the issue within the party and drag it closer to backing Remain in a second referendum.

Delegates at the party's annual conference in Brighton met on Sunday night and attempted to reconcile different Brexit motions so that a compromise could be put to a vote — a process known as "compositing". But they were unable to agree on a common position, and so two different options will be voted upon to decide the party's new Brexit policy.

One party source said it was "unheard of" for the compositing process to fail like this.

The party’s ruling body, the National Executive Committee (NEC) hopes to solidify what it considers a happy compromise: to back a second referendum — but without any commitment on how Labour would campaign.

“Labour will put Brexit back into the hands of the people in a new referendum,” its draft Brexit statement reads.

"The NEC believes it is right that the party shall only decide how to campaign in such a referendum — through a one-day special conference, following the election of a Labour Government.”

The first motion delegates will vote on on Monday is broadly in line with the NEC’s position, but a second goes further and states that Labour should back Remain. Many constituency parties had put forward motions committing Labour to campaign to stay in the EU.

Several MPs and other senior figures say the time has now come for Labour to send voters a clear message on where it stands, instead of trying to play both sides to appease Leave- and Remain-supporting voters.



While the first motion is almost certain to pass, the second is far less guaranteed. If it did pass, it would likely override the first as the stronger motion and force the party’s hand into backing Remain.



However, a source with knowledge of Labour party policy procedures cautioned that to have motions that deviate in this way is fairly uncharted territory at conference, and said outcomes are not guaranteed.