What is Labour’s Brexit policy now?

The nub of the party’s conference motion, thrashed out over five gruelling hours late on Sunday, is that if Theresa May’s Brexit deal is rejected (assuming she gets one at all), Labour will seek a general election – but failing that, a referendum should not be ruled out.

“If we cannot get a general election, Labour must support all options remaining on the table, including campaigning for a public vote,” the final draft said. A different version, calling for a “vote on the deal”, was explicitly rejected.

That’s why the shadow Brexit secretary, Keir Starmer, has repeatedly said, including in his conference speech, “nobody is ruling out remain as an option” – a phrase advisers said was “ad-libbed”.

Keir Starmer: second Brexit vote could contain remain option Read more

Members are overwhelmingly pro-remain. Why doesn’t the party just call for Brexit to be stopped?

As a slew of senior figures, including John McDonnell, have said in Liverpool this week, the party is concerned that seeking to overturn the referendum would make Labour vulnerable in leave-voting seats in the party’s traditional heartlands.

That’s why the shadow chancellor and the Unite general secretary, Len McCluskey, have suggested remain should not be an option on the ballot paper in any referendum. McCluskey’s deputy, Steve Turner, underlined that view on Tuesday.

MPs from leave-supporting seats have been sharing their stories on the conference sidelines about voters who tell them they would feel betrayed or ignored if Labour appeared to be rejecting the 2016 referendum result.

However, plenty of other MPs and members believe Brexit will be bad for jobs and living standards, and it is the party’s duty to oppose it.

Can the party now unite behind this motion?

Probably not for long. While the leadership was relieved to channel what looked in advance like an almighty bust-up into a carefully drafted conference motion, the profound tensions that underlie Labour’s position remain.

Some MPs will continue to push hard for a clearer commitment to a people’s vote, while others feel Labour has already moved too close to looking anti-Brexit.

Will it make any difference to the Conservatives’ policy?

It’s unlikely. Starmer published a document on Tuesday making clear that Labour believes the government’s Chequers position would not meet his six tests for assessing the deal. However, the Tories already knew their red lines made it all but impossible to reach an agreement that could be supported by the Labour leadership.

However, Labour’s shift does change the political backdrop to the negotiations.

Starmer had barely sat down before Tory central office began tweeting that he had “confirmed Labour want to rerun the EU referendum”.

The Tory MP Mark Francois, of the pro-Brexit European Research Group, insisted that he and his colleagues would vote against a deal based on Chequers, whatever Starmer and his colleagues did.

But Downing Street will hope the clearer Labour stance on a fresh referendum helps to clarify the choice faced by hardline leavers in parliament: Brexit on May’s terms, or a genuine risk of no Brexit at all.