Labour can win the next election with a pledge to put Brexit back to the people in a referendum, said the party’s deputy leader Tom Watson.
Speculation is rife in Westminster that Theresa May will call a general election if she cannot get her deal through the House of Commons at the fourth attempt this week. And to avoid a no-deal crash-out from the European Union on April 12, London will have to commit to a long delay including taking part in the European Parliament election.
Politico refers to an op-ed written by Watson for The Guardian.
In his piece, Watson says that he thinks that “Labour should embrace European elections just as we should welcome a general election that might get rid of this broken government. If we go into either contest with a positive policy on Brexit and say any final deal must be put back to the people, I am confident Labour can win. We already have a fund raised by local parties to pay for the campaign and I’ve asked our NEC to develop a plan to get grassroots members involved in selecting candidates.
Ministers have started saying that taking part in EU elections would be somehow be an “affront to democracy”. They no longer make the case for a stronger economy, £350m extra every week for the NHS or amazing new trade deals negotiated by Global Britain. All they have got left in their locker is a promise to give us fewer chances to vote.
The Tories are right to be frightened of elections. Their internal war over Europe, waged for the past 30 years, has led the country to this point. They’ve messed up Brexit that has gone from chaos to national humiliation and are completely incapable of providing the leadership we need.
In contrast, Labour emerged from the past week stronger and more united. Our values have always been internationalist and outward-looking. The biggest gains we made in 2017 were among young people who share those values and want to “build bridges, not walls”. It falls to Labour to develop a modern programme of change to address the root causes of why 52% voted for Brexit.
Whenever a final deal is reached, and whatever that deal eventually looks like, I think this question can only be truly settled by giving the decision to the people. Our plan to put any final Brexit deal back to the people has already begun to unite the Labour party. And, if the last referendum divided our country, I believe a new one might help heal it.
Via Politico and The Guardian
