Labour frontbenchers who quit in a row over the party’s approach to Brexit should be back in top positions within months, Tom Watson has said.

The deputy leader said the party must take a sensible approach to dealing with the deep divisions among MPs over triggering article 50 to begin the process of the UK leaving the European Union.



Watson was speaking on Saturday after it was revealed that a group of backbench Labour MPs have put forward a Commons motion to throw out the government’s bill to trigger article 50, arguing they cannot support Theresa May’s plan to take Britain out of the EU’s single market.

Tabled by the former shadow health secretary Heidi Alexander, and supported by 18 fellow backbenchers, the proposal would, if passed, see the bill that would set in motion departure from the EU stopped entirely early next week.

Watson was urging sensible action over Brexit at a conference in central London where he also said Britain must be open-minded about Donald Trump’s economic policies. He said he hoped the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, would meet the US president when he travels to the UK for a state visit later this year.



Jo Stevens, who quit as shadow Welsh secretary over the article 50 vote, had a “very great role to play” in the future of the party, Watson told Sky News.

“I hope that those colleagues who feel they need to leave the frontbench because they feel strongly that they have to represent the interests of their voters don’t feel that this is the end.

“I hope that Jo Stevens will be back on the frontbenches in the months and years ahead.”



Watson said that even though Labour had opposed Brexit, it was backing the legislation to start the article 50 process because it was a party of democrats.



Asked about the sanctions that rebels in lower-ranking positions could face, he replied: “We are going to deal with this sensitively. Jeremy and our chief whip will be dealing with all those matters of discipline.



“But, let me just be very clear, I understand this is very unique circumstances and we are going to deal with this issue very sensitively.”



Watson said the UK should respond to Trump’s “buy American” mantra with its own “buy British” policy.

In a speech to the Co-operative party economic conference in London, he said Brexit would free up the government to favour British goods.

He highlighted the fact that the international trade agreements being ripped up by Trump had also been opposed by unions because they prevented countries from protecting workers.

Attacking the “chattering classes” for their “sneering derision” of calls to buy British, he insisted significant opportunities to boost business would be opened up when the country was no longer bound by EU red tape.

Watson said later that he wanted Trump to take up Corbyn’s offer to take the president to a British mosque to show him the UK’s “multi-faith, multicultural society”.

“I very much hope that Donald Trump will meet Jeremy. Jeremy has offered to invite him to a mosque in his constituency and I hope he can do that,” he told Sky.



Watson told activists that technological advances meant Trump’s plan to return manufacturing to the US could end up with many jobs being done by robots rather than people.

Technology was being use to “wring the very last drop of productivity out of workers” and those in the manufacturing sector must be protected by unions, he told the conference.

“We should be working towards a bright future. Instead we’re burrowing back to the basest bits of the past – but with a dystopian, cyberpunk twist.”