It was curtains for the cross-party Brexit negotiations today. Things fell apart and in a letter addressed to Theresa May, Jeremy Corbyn wrote:
“I am writing to let you know that I believe the talks between us about finding a compromise agreement on leaving the European Union have now gone as far as they can.”
The leader of the opposition – who runs a fairly dysfunctional party himself – cited the “increasing weakness and instability” of the government as his reason for calling off the talks. He warned that he did not have confidence that May could secure whatever agreement the pair came to.
In a rare display of magnanimity from the Leader of the Opposition, Corbyn made an effort to praise the good faith and hard work both sides put into the negotiations. Theresa May’s position is so weak that she is being patronised by Corbyn.
To translate his message: it’s not you, it’s your party, and its unresolvable divisions over the European question. It’s a helpful message for Corbyn to hammer home. So long as the Tories are running the Brexit show, he says, nothing can be achieved – the party’s MPs simply differ too much. The European question will not be solved until a party which has an internal consensus is in government. Hilariously, Corbyn suggests that Labour is that party.
Corbyn’s Brexit policy has been (perhaps) purposefully opaque throughout the process. By refusing to alight on a singular solution, and pushing for it with clear messaging, Corbyn probably hoped that Labour wouldn’t get any flak from the electorate for the hugely divisive issue. He has since decided to run with a customs union solution, but he fluffed Labour’s position on a second referendum to the point where it really is impossible to tell whether he actually endorses it or not.
It is rich for Labour to claim it is any less divided on Brexit than the Tories. In February (read: eons ago) several of Corbyn’s own MPs defected to set up a new party Change UK, citing in part Labour’s Brexit position as their reason. Keir Starmer – their chief Brexit negotiator – is pushing hard for a second referendum. Deputy Leader Tom Watson is a dedicated Remainer. Corbyn and Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell are long-standing eurosceptics who have wanted to leave the EU for years. This is all before you get into the several competing Brexit stances of the backbenchers.
But, Corbyn’s latest move is still politically savvy. By majoring on the Tories incapability to deliver Brexit – due to internal divisions – he can detract attention away from his own, pretty similar problems.
His strategy until now has centred on taking Labour into a general election with Brexit having been delivered – however badly – by the Tories. He would then capitalise on the discontent of the electorate on public services and possibly storm into Number 10, hands clean of the whole Brexit debacle.
But a general election is looming and getting Brexit over the line simply isn’t. If an election comes first, the Tories under a new leader will shine a spotlight on Labour’s inconsistent Brexit position and internal divisions too. If Labour still makes it into power and Corbyn tries to deliver Brexit, against the wishes of much of his party, and the deadlock continues, the electorate won’t be any more sympathetic to Labour than they’ve been towards the Conservatives.
In Westminster, when it comes to Brexit it seems both parties lose.
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Iain Martin and the team make sense of the news, providing commentary and analysis on the stories that matter in politics, geopolitics, economics and culture.