Labour leader under pressure from Emily Thornberry to put any pact to a second public vote

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Jeremy Corbyn will resume Brexit talks with the prime minister on Thursday, after Labour tensions over a second referendum burst into the open, with the shadow foreign secretary, Emily Thornberry, writing to colleagues to insist any pact must be put to a public vote.

Both Labour and Downing Street described the discussions as “constructive” and said they would hold technical talks, facilitated by civil servants, on Thursday.

“We have had constructive exploratory discussions about how to break the Brexit deadlock,” a Labour spokesperson said. “We have agreed a programme of work between our teams to explore the scope for agreement.”

An emergency shadow cabinet meeting was convened in the aftermath of the discussions to consider how Labour should proceed.

Thornberry wrote to colleagues to say that she was unable to attend for personal reasons – but would have insisted any deal must be subject to a public vote.

“What I would have said is that if we look like reaching any other decision than confirmatory vote that would be in breach of the decision made unanimously by conference in Liverpool and overwhelmingly supported by our members and it needs to be put to a vote‎ by the shadow cabinet,” the letter said.

She said the cabinet had held a vote on Tuesday and the shadow cabinet should adopt the same procedure. If it did, she said, “can I – in writing – confirm that my votes are that yes, any deal agreed by parliament must be subject to a confirmatory public vote, and, yes, the other option on the ballot must be remain”.

Corbyn accepted the prime minister’s surprise offer of negotiations, and her signal that she was willing to contemplate a softer form of Brexit, after a marathon cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

But he faces intense pressure from MPs concerned that he may be willing to sign up to a Brexit deal without submitting it to a referendum – and stressed afterwards that he had raised the issue.

In a tweet after the meeting with May, he said, “I put forward Labour’s alternative plan and raised the option of a public vote to prevent No Deal or leaving on a bad deal.”

Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) In my meeting with Theresa May I put forward Labour's alternative plan and raised the option of a public vote to prevent No Deal or leaving on a bad deal. There wasn’t as much change in her position as I expected but we'll have further discussions tomorrow.

That is the careful formulation used by the leadership since Labour shifted its position towards support for a referendum in February – and falls short of Thornberry’s position that any deal should be subject to a public vote.

A similar stance was set out by the shadow Brexit secretary, Keir Starmer, on Monday. Speaking in favour of the referendum option in the indicative votes process, he told the House of Commons: “At this late stage it is clear that any Brexit deal agreed in this parliament will need further democratic approval.”

The Scottish National party, which commands 35 votes in the Commons, has strengthened its demands for a confirmatory referendum on any Brexit deal agreed after May’s cross-party talks, although it has not yet made that a precondition for its support of a new soft Brexit proposal.

Thornberry’s intervention underlined the balancing act facing Corbyn. Labour’s membership is overwhelmingly pro-remain. But many of its MPs represent leave-voting constituencies, and a considerable number of shadow ministers, are sceptical about the idea of a referendum.

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When Labour decided to whip in favour of a confirmatory public vote in the indicative votes process, Corbyn faced a delegation of shadow ministers, many of them close allies, urging him to change course. Two, Jon Trickett and Ian Lavery, subsequently abstained.

The Labour and Conservative teams met on Wednesday afternoon after May invited Corbyn to join talks rather than continue attempting to secure a majority for her withdrawal deal based solely on votes from Conservative and DUP MPs. That deal has failed to win a Commons majority three times.

Starmer, who is one of the more vocal advocates for a referendum in the shadow cabinet, accompanied Corbyn at the meeting, together with Labour’s chief whip, Nick Brown, and strategy and communications director Seumas Milne.

Play Video 1:52 Jeremy Corbyn: 'I'm happy to meet the PM' to discuss Brexit deal – video

But, unlike in previous meetings with the prime minister, Corbyn took the shadow business secretary, Rebecca Long-Bailey, who has expressed scepticism about a referendum.

“If we get exactly what we want – a good strong deal – then I would struggle to find a reason to put that to a public vote,” she said on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

A spokesman said Long-Bailey’s presence was because “a substantial number of our demands relate to her brief” – including Labour’s demands for dynamic alignment with workers’ rights.

On the government side, May was accompanied by the Brexit secretary, Steven Barclay, the chief whip, Julian Smith, the chief of staff, Gavin Barwell, and the communications director, Robbie Gibb.

If May cannot secure Labour’s backing for a compromise deal, she hopes to win Corbyn’s sign-up for a binding process in the Commons to decide what form of Brexit is acceptable.