As the Brexit negotiations stagger on, a large swathe of Labour voters will be bitterly disappointed this week by the party leadership. In particular, younger voters who flocked to the party in 2017 in the expectation that the party would fight this Tory disaster will feel they have been sold down the river. Worse still, many think Labour is complicit.

Today, Richard Brooks, one of the co-founders of anti-Brexit youth group For our Future’s Sake, spelt out how young Labour voters feel: “The Liberal Democrats went onto campuses and promised young people to not increase tuition fees. When they trebled them, only months later, young people and students mobilised – and in 2015 the Liberal Democrats were all but wiped out. The Labour Party now has the same existential threat before it. Does it enable a Tory Brexit, which will disproportionately harm young and working-class people, or does Labour follow the wishes of hundreds of thousands of members like me, and support a people’s vote?” He is absolutely right.

In a letter to Theresa May last night, Jeremy Corbyn said he would help to facilitate Brexit and support her deal if May meets five key tests. One of Labour’s original tests, which demanded the exact same economic benefits outside the EU as we have within it, has been dropped. It was never realistic – at least he has realised this much. There was also the mantra that Labour would seek a “jobs first” Brexit. But Brexit, in the terms that the British people voted for originally, is impossible to deliver and there is no point pretending that anything short of keeping the current deal as an EU member is going to be good for the economy. In fact it will be the opposite, especially for jobs.

Whether May meets these five tests or not, they are not credible, nor do they take us any closer to a Final Say on the deal. Let’s go through them briefly.

“A permanent and comprehensive UK-wide customs union” with “a UK say on future EU trade deals” is the first demand. You cannot have a say on EU trade policy because EU treaties grant the EU sole competence over its common commercial policy. Seeking to participate in a customs union and expecting influence and a say on trade deals is not on the table – just ask Turkey, which participates in the customs union but has no say over trade deals.

How Brexit will affect your travel to Europe Show all 14 1 /14 How Brexit will affect your travel to Europe How Brexit will affect your travel to Europe Passports British passports that expire after 29 March 2019 will continue to be valid as UK travel documents, but will lose the power that comes with being a European Union passport – notably the right of free movement within the EU27. UK passports issued from 30 March 2019 will have the words “European Union” removed from the cover and the first page (along with the translations into Welsh and Gaelic). But they will still be burgundy. By October 2019, new British passports will have dark blue covers Getty How Brexit will affect your travel to Europe Pets You will still be able to travel to the EU with your pet after Brexit, but it could well get more complicated depending on the status that the European Union decide to apply. If the UK is given “Part 2 listed status”, there would be some extra requirements for travelling pets and owners post-Brexit. “These would require an additional visit to the vet and some additional papers to be carried but would not prevent you from enjoying your trip,” says Eurotunnel. But it adds that if the UK is given unlisted, third-country status, “owners who wish to travel with their pets from the UK to EU nations will need to discuss their specific preparations and requirements with an Official Veterinarian at least four months prior to their desired travel date AFP/Getty How Brexit will affect your travel to Europe Eurotunnel/Eurostar The Treaty of Canterbury between the UK and France governs the Channel Tunnel link and operations will continue – subject to any local disruption at Folkestone and/or Calais AFP/Getty How Brexit will affect your travel to Europe Driving Motorists, whether taking their own cars or hiring abroad, are likely to need to obtain an International Driving Permit or two; different EU countries are signed up to different treaties, so for a trip embracing Spain and France you would need both types. These are currently sold from a limited number of Post Offices, but the government intends to make them widely available. The cost is £5.50 for each. Motor insurance will no longer automatically extend to the EU. Insurers will provide on request a “Green Card”, for which an extra charge will be made PA How Brexit will affect your travel to Europe Flights Even in the event of a no-deal Brexit, flights will continue to operate between the UK and European Union. However, in the event of the UK leaving with no deal, many flights are likely to be cancelled because departures would be capped at 2018 levels. As UK airlines have already announced thousands of new flights to Europe from the end of March 2019, some would have to be cancelled Getty How Brexit will affect your travel to Europe Air routes The network of flight links between Britain and eastern Europe could be affected by any reduction in the number of workers from those countries. Not only do they use the flights – so do their families and friends PA How Brexit will affect your travel to Europe Flight disruption rights Current European passengers’ rights rules, known as EC261/2004, stipulate high payouts for delays and cancellations that cannot be attributed to “extraordinary circumstances”. Buried in a document called Beyond the Horizon: The Future of UK Aviation, the government says “the UK will not fall below current standards of protection when we leave the EU” AFP/Getty How Brexit will affect your travel to Europe Entry regulations to the European Union From 11pm GMT on 29 March 2019, UK travellers will become “third-country nationals” when travelling to Schengen countries and subject to the standard rules of admission for citizens of nations such as the US, Japan and Australia. That means there must be at least 90 days (roughly three months) left on your passport beyond your intended date of departure. Because third-country nationals can remain in the Schengen area for 90 days, the actual check carried out could be that the passport has at least six months’ validity remaining on the date of arrival Getty How Brexit will affect your travel to Europe Online registration prior to travel – ETIAS From 2021, non-EU nationals who do not require a visa to enter the Schengen area – including British travellers – will need to request prior authorisation to visit Schengen countries. The Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) is aimed at reducing the “migration, security or public-health risk” from nationals of visa-exempt third countries, which is what the UK will become after Brexit. It costs €7 for three years AFP/Getty How Brexit will affect your travel to Europe ‘Brexit clauses’ A large number of travel providers – even including National Express coaches – have added “Brexit clauses” to their terms and conditions. These generally specify that they will not be liable for “consequential losses” as a result of Brexit-related issues PA How Brexit will affect your travel to Europe ‘Fast track’ lanes for passport control entering EU countries British passport holders will not be able to use them, and must join the queue for third-country nationals. People holding an EU passport or ID card as well as a British passport will be able to exit the UK on the British passport but enter Europe on the EU document Getty How Brexit will affect your travel to Europe Ferries The ferry industry insists vessels will continue to sail. The UK Chamber of Shipping says: “Unlike the carriage of cargo, trade deals do not have a significant effect on the cruise and passenger ferry industry. The explicit standardisation of commodity codes and tariffs associated with trade deals have little relevance to holidaymakers.” Having said that, the government and Kent County Council are planning for possible chaos at Channel ports because of a backlog of trucks in the event of a no-deal Brexit. This would impinge on holidaymakers’ plans PA How Brexit will affect your travel to Europe European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) The EU says: “If you fall ill or have an accident during a visit to another EU country, as an EU citizen you have the right to receive the necessary public healthcare in any EU country under the same conditions as people in the host country.” The EHIC also works in Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Treatment, says the NHS, is “at a reduced cost or, in many cases, free of charge”. From 11pm GMT on 29 March 2019, when the UK ceases to belong to the European Union, British travellers will have no automatic right to use the EHIC. There is no certainty about what may replace it PA How Brexit will affect your travel to Europe Mobile phones From 30 March 2019, the law banning mobile phone firms from charging extra for calls and data in Europe will cease, though operators have yet to set out exactly what will replace it. In theory, mobile phone firms can impose whatever fees they think the market will bear. But Dave Dyson, chef executive of Three, says his firm is “committed to maintain the availability of roaming in the EU at no additional cost following Brexit” AFP/Getty

Second, Labour seeks “close alignment with the single market” which should be “underpinned by shared institutions and obligations”. This is a weakening of the Labour Party conference motion which talked about “full participation in the single market”, something which is only possible if you continue to participate in the single market through membership of the European Economic Area, which Keir Starmer, the shadow Brexit secretary, made very clear in the House of Commons last July that the Labour front bench was opposed to.

Third, the letter demands a “dynamic alignment on rights and protections so that UK standards keep pace with evolving standards across Europe as a minimum”. How on earth can you expect that from a Conservative prime minister when she, a member of cabinet for the past eight years, has sponsored the weakening of unfair dismissal protections, imposed employment tribunal fees which were ruled unlawful by the Supreme Court and overseen the watering-down of the statutory remit of the Equality and Human Rights Commission?

Finally, the fourth and fifth points ask for clear commitments on participation in EU agencies and funding programmes, as well as unambiguous agreements on the details of future security arrangements. The truth is that everything in the political declaration is an aspiration – all of it is ambiguous, whether on security arrangements or otherwise, because it is not binding and subject to a future trading agreement being signed off in several years’ time. The prime minister is unlikely still to be in place when the future trading arrangement is finalised, and neither will the main EU leaders. Any promises involving these people, therefore, aren’t worth the paper they’re written on, as others will be in charge when the time comes.

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In short, these tests are nonsense and Labour’s policy is all over the place.

Above all, the letter makes no mention of referring this back to the people. The spirit of Labour’s conference policy was that if we couldn’t get an election, Labour would commit to referring this issue back to the people.

The leader and those around him have made it is clear they have no interest in going there at all. He has also tacitly given a green light to those who not only won’t support a people’s vote but are also happy to thwart the House of Commons’ ability to stop the UK crashing out of the EU without a deal in 50 days. That is the harsh reality of what we have learned these past couple of weeks. The party won’t be forgiven by the next generation.