Labour can be pro-Corbyn or pro-Europe: it can’t be both

There is a palpable buzz around the Labour conference. No doubt about it. They’re on the move. They have, in every meaning of the word, momentum. There are more delegates than ever before; the sun is out; they love Jeremy Corbyn; they adore John McDonnell’s plans to clobber big business; they can’t wait to start deselecting the leftover Blairite MPs who hang about like ghosts from Christmas past; and the plans to sort out once and for all the unbalanced media triggers a frisson of particular excitement. They’ve taken control of the party and soon it will be the country.

The Conservatives are doing their bit to help too. A bunch of parliamentary Brexiteers launching a plan to defeat Chequers on the first day of the Labour conference is designed to keep the focus on Tory division rather than on the official opposition.

Polls consistently show Labour and the Conservatives roughly tied on or around the high 30s – 36/37/38 per cent or so. Weeks of accusations of being anti-Semitic have not dented Labour’s position (something which ought to provoke further discussion), and months of Brexit rowing has not harmed the Tories either. It is remarkable that over eight and a half years into their spell in government the Conservatives are holding the line in terms of keeping public support. It is extraordinary that eight and a half years into opposition Labour has still not built up a solid and consistent lead yet has not fallen behind. The ratings of both parties look becalmed.

This week though is Labour’s moment in the spotlight and one big contradiction, one big conundrum, hangs over the party. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is a lifelong Eurosceptic. As a socialist he has always suspected Brussels was the battering ram for a capitalist conspiracy to dominate British and European politics. He looked on in horror as Mrs Thatcher persuaded Europe to adopt the Single Market. Mr Corbyn is secretly thrilled about the result of the Brexit referendum and nurtures hopes of being the first person elected Prime Minister of a free and unfettered Britain in half a century. There is however one fly in the Labour ointment.

Many many Labour activists are appalled by Brexit as Mr Corbyn is pleased. They look upon the EU as a protector and safeguarder of workers rights and individual freedoms. They do not like the cultural as well as political changes Brexit has unleashed and they fear for their country. They want Mr Corbyn to be Prime Minister and they want Labour to campaign to keep Britain in the European Union. The trouble is they cannot have both. At some point they are going to have to choose what they want more – a Corbyn Premiership or a pro-European Labour Party.