Ditch EU for change, Corbyn supporters stick to the Brexit scenario

LIVERPOOL, England (Reuters) – On a cold autumn night, union activist Paula Barker made a passionate appeal to her colleagues in the British Labor Party to support the EU's exit.

The answer – a mixture of screaming and contradictory calls to "stop Brexit" – has been at the heart of the main opposition party's fight to find common ground in an attempt to challenge the Conservative government's strategy of quitting the EU.

Separating, as most countries do, the way of leaving – the most important policy change in Britain for more than 40 years – Labor leaders are reluctant to make commitments to the growing number of members struggling against the Brexit future outside the block.

Barker's words on the eve of the party's annual conference in the port city of Liverpool in the north of the country resonated long after the meeting began, as the Labor Party tried to hold a second referendum on the table.

This could well win the favor of London-based party members, who overwhelmingly voted to stay in the bloc. But for those, especially outside the capital, who voted in favor of frustration with a system they claim to be against them, Brexit offers opportunities.

"The work must be a party of popular mobilization and radical change. We must be very cautious about being labeled as middle-class or pro-European supporters, "Barker shouted at hundreds of Labor supporters gathered on Saturday night at Liverpool Pier to see Corbyn on stage.

"It would be disastrous for the Labor Party to say" no, we know better – you can have little or nothing to lose but stay with the status quo "… We should remember that a radical Labor government outside the EU and the Single Market be able to implement its radical economic program. "

It is an argument that the union leaders vehemently feel and almost certainly echo with Corbyn, a veteran eurosceptic who, in 1975, voted "no" to Britain's accession to the then European Community.

Corbyn has long been interested in the end of austerity in Britain and is launching an economic program aimed at reversing the cuts that he says have hurt the poor for the benefit of the "super rich".

Apart from EU state aid rules, it could renationalise British mail, rail and utilities. Without the Union's competition directives and procurement rules, labor could protect and extend the public provision of public services.

These goals are some of those that define the Corbyn program, forcing Brexit to reduce its list of priorities.

RANKS OF BREXIT

But Labor, like the Conservatives in power, can not escape the Brexit debate, especially after Prime Minister Theresa May's plan to leave the EU was largely rejected by the bloc last week, making the outcome difficult. negotiations more uncertain than ever.

Brexit has so far largely dominated this year's party conference, a meeting of Labor members who are increasingly convinced that Corbyn will soon be running a government.

And this could again become the trigger for a new dispute over Britain's divorce from the EU, with a decision by the leadership to accept a motion for a second referendum failing to close the divisions that have long defended the Labor Party.

Late Sunday night, local Labor representatives, union leaders and Brexit spokesman Keir Starmer debated for more than five hours the motion to be presented to members on Tuesday about the possibility of a vote. a second referendum.

The party said the meeting had been "conducted in a cordial and respectful manner, recognizing the complexities of Brexit", an agreement having been requested on a motion asking management to pre-judge any agreement by its six tests.

If it is voted in parliament, the Labor Party should then ask for a new election, says the motion. If that does not succeed, then the party must keep all options on the table, including the possibility of a second referendum on an issue to be determined.

John McDonnell, spokesperson for Corbyn, was clear: the issue should not involve re-examining the 2016 referendum by including an option to stay in the EU.

For those who are calling for a second referendum, or a popular vote, the motion is nothing more than a fudge.

"Dozens of motions have been submitted to (conference), thousands of people marched on the streets and millions more have called for a popular vote," Labor MP David Lammy told Twitter.

"They did not do it to be offered a far-fetched referendum on No Deal or Bad Deal. It must absolutely include the right to stay in the EU. "

He also did little to please those who campaigned to leave the block.

"The Labor Conference motion does not rule out a second referendum," Brendan Chilton, general secretary of the Labor Freedom Campaign, told Reuters.

"There are 5 million workers in the country who will look at this motion with dismay."

FOOT ELECTION

On Tuesday, the day of the vote on the second referendum motion, Labor leaders will work hard to end the quarrels – eager to continue with economic announcements that they hope will take advantage of growing discontent in Britain.

And it 's a party that seems to have regained confidence after winning a larger number of votes than expected at an election last year.

Until now, at two gatherings, Corbyn has not even mentioned the word Brexit, which remains true to his scenario, namely that it is now time to change with what's going on. he calls the neoliberal policies of the past to better benefit the "poorest and most vulnerable". .

"They are the ones who paid the price of the 2008 banking crisis. During this time, the richest of our society have benefited from tax breaks, gifts and tax havens," he said at A meeting organized by Momentum. Corbyn, after his death, was named union leader in 2015.

"I tell you what – they are borrowing time because a Labor government is coming," he said to deafening cheers.