What Price Labour Democracy; Labour Party takes a 'significant step backwards' as Jeremy Corbyn calls for new EU referendum, Corbyn said on TV that he had ‘listened’, well if he is in ‘listening mode’, ears back, betraying the 2016 EU referendum result is the most stupid thing possible that a party can do, this position is a ‘welcome gift’ for the new Conservative PM

Dear All

If you could think of the worse possible scenario to hinder the Labour Party’s attempt at winning the next General Election, you would be right if you said back the UK staying in the EU. Jeremy Corbyn has been under pressure to change Labour's position on Brexit and it seems the right wing of the Labour Party is getting its way. At the same time; the right wing of the Labour Party have also gave themselves a massive boost in their attempts at killing off Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership.

Although this has been dressed up as a 'Significant step forward', what it actually is without a doubt is a 'Significant step backwards'.

When I was a kid, I thought politicians were super smart, mainly because they seem to come from university backgrounds, but I have realised, they aren’t smart as they appear, and they don’t have all the answers, quite the opposite it seems. The demise of the ability of the political class is getting well known with a sceptical public. SNP MSP Alex Neil has mentioned today this issue as he lamented that the lack of independent thinkers, people selected because they are in effect like better than drones, or as Neil terms its ‘robots’, this is now causing a major problem.

A problem which goes right across all parties to various degrees!

For the Labour Party to jump on the bandwagon of ‘Brexit Betrayal’ is astonishing in my opinion, given that this stance is going to divide the party and effectively rip the guts out of it. Jeremy Corbyn has been a Euro Skeptic all his days. Now is wiling to go down the road of making the Labour Party a party of ‘remain’ and campaigning for a second referendum.

As people are aware in politics, the momentum crowd are busy trying to get certain Labour MPs de-selected to be replaced by their members, but it could be those who get de-selected that get the ‘last laugh’ come a General election. From a Scottish view point, this change doesn’t help the Labour Party win seats, earlier, the Scottish leader Richard Leonard already made his position clear of his direction of travel.

Some Labour supporters of a second EU referendum have hailed this as a "significant and very welcome step forward" after Jeremy Corbyn called on the government to stage a public vote on any Brexit deal, and confirmed his party would campaign to Remain.

I don’t, this folly is worse than Nick Clegg and his disastrous betrayal over tuition fees, and we all saw what the upshot of that decision had on the fortunes of the Lib Dems. Because of lack of progress on Brexit, the Lib Dems managed to find a way back but this is solely due to their Brexit stance as a ‘remain’ party.

One of the things which won’t happen is that following a meeting of the shadow cabinet at Westminster, Jeremy Corbyn said that whoever wins the Conservative leadership contest should have the confidence to put any new deal they negotiate with Brussels or no-deal to the public.

This is never going to be a serious option.

The Labour Party was wrong to support remain in 2016, the Labour Party was wrong to break its promise to honour the vote, the Labour Party was wrong to position themselves as a ‘remain’ party, the Labour Party is wrong to want a second referendum.

I think the classic line, #you couldn’t make this shit up’ is more than perfect for what has happened, this tactic now strengthens whoever becomes the next Conservative leader which is increasingly looking like Boris Johnson. Brexit-backing Labour MP John Mann agrees with me saying the move will lead to the loss of Leave-voting voters and be a gift to the Tory leadership front-runner.

Mann said;

"The one person who will be smiling at today's announcement is Boris Johnson. I think it gives him quite a boost when he wins the Tory leadership. And I think it makes it slightly more likely that he'll be tempted to call a Brexit election."

Just to be clear, whoever wins the leadership contest in the Conservative Party, they won’t be calling an early General Election for Westminster[ neither Johnson or Hunt are that silly. Either candidate will in my opinion run down the clock because both of them know that they will need to present a proven product to the electorate of success. As well as that they need to build their personal ‘brand’ and publish their version of Global UK in the post Brexit world.

Anti Corbyn Labour MP Ian Murray said:

“This is a significant and very welcome step forward. It’s taken a huge effort to get to this point, and I pay tribute to party members who have helped secure this policy position. A confirmatory vote with a campaign to remain in the EU is now official Labour Party policy, in line with the Scottish Labour Party. We must now get out there and tell voters that the only way to stop Brexit and remain in the EU permanently is to vote Labour.”

George Laird, member of Pollok CLP said:

“What a betrayal of the working class which will come back on the party in both at Holyrood and Westminster”.

Finally, give that the Labour Party needs to win back Brexit voting Northern England and of course Scotland to form a majority government for Westminster, do you think the betting odds just got better or worse for Jeremy Corbyn?

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University