Labour members could force rethink on party’s approach to Brexit

Labour’s party conference could be dominated by a pro-Remain group of members and MPs forcing Jeremy Corbyn’s team to take a softer approach to Brexit, it has emerged.



Pro-EU MPs and members are mobilising to get the party to commit to remaining in the single market and commit to Brussel’s controversial freedom of movement policy.

Putting a resolution backing the fundamentals of a soft-Brexit could prove problematic for Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, as he has remained in favour of a hard-Brexit.

The Labour campaign for freedom of movement has already prepared a draft resolution calling on the party to commit to open borders, ahead of their conference on September 24-27th.

The campaign has the backing of an influential group of MPs like David Lammy, Tulip Saddiq and Corbyn ally, Clive Lewis.

Ms Siddiq, the MP for Hampstead and Kilburn, said: “Labour should champion the benefit freedom of movement has brought to Britain, and conference should commit to maintaining it to ensure the UK economy, and particularly London’s economy, is protected.

The resolution drafted by the group says: “Free movement benefits all workers. Without it, migrants are more vulnerable to hyper-exploitation, making downward pressure on wages more likely. Limiting it would damage the economy and hit living standards. Britain and the EU should welcome migration across Europe and from beyond.”

Labour’s existing Brexit policy is to support a four-year-long transitional deal which would continue to give Britain access to the single market and customs union.

However, Labour MPs are divided over what approach Labour should adopt after the four years are up, with some favouring a more drastic approach to leaving the bloc.

One party source close to Labour’s ruling national executive committee told the Guardian party members were likely to support a more liberal approach to EU migration.

“Free movement really is the big controversy that could emerge. It would get a lot of support from members and from unions,” the source said.

“If a local party submitted a motion backing free movement, that could be problematic. It could pass, and conference could change our policy.”

Tom Watson, the party’s deputy leader, said Labour could accurately be described as the party of “soft Brexit”, and he hinted membership of the single market could continue indefinitely under a Labour government.

“We think that being part of the customs union and the single market is important in those transitional times because that is the way you protect jobs and the economy, and it might be a permanent outcome of the negotiations, but we have got to see how those negotiations go,” he told the BBC’s Newsnight.