Well, that lasted long. Despite hopes for a show of unity at this year’s Labour conference, the peace came to an abrupt end on its first day after members voted so that Brexit was not picked in the ‘priority ballot’. This means that while there will still be a discussion on Brexit, there will be no motion to vote on – rendering it all rather meaningless.
Helpfully for journalists, this decision came just minutes before the annual Progress rally. Progress is the Blairite pro-EU wing of the party – and in recent years, its main conference event has begun to resemble a group therapy session for down-and-out centrists. After a surprisingly good defeat in the general election, this year this faction of the party is torn over how much to credit the result to Corbyn and how much to credit it to its own campaigners. On Europe, however, the message is clear: Brexit could be a disaster for the country and must be diluted or – if possible – avoided.
So, after Momentum – the pro-Corbyn faction – successfully managed to keep Brexit off the menu, Labour MPs saw red. Alison McGovern – the chair of Progress – said she was ‘gutted’ over the outcome and promised to set up a ‘campaign for Labour party democracy’ to make sure members concerns are heard in future:
‘I’m a bit gutted our debate on Brexit didn’t make it through. It is disappointing that the biggest issue for our country hasn’t made it through the priority ballot. I worry it does mean our party doesn’t have a chance to debate properly one of the big issues going on and I’m thinking about calling a new organisation to make sure that the voices of our members are heard at Labour conference. I’ve thought about calling it the campaign for Labour party democracy.’
Stella Creasy used her speech to blast the leadership in general for focussing their time on rule changes for securing Corbyn’s left-wing successor rather than actually instilling Labour policies:
‘Now, can someone tell me what an earth does changing the threshold, bullying the general secretary or deselecting have to do with this?’
Jonathan Reynolds – the sole Labour frontbencher to attend – used his speech to tell Progress members they still had a place in Corbyn’s Labour:
‘We pulled together in the election – we are a party of fighters, not of quitters and we should never forget that. Let no-one doubt the Labour credentials of anyone who is part of Progress.’
These comments played well to the crowd who cheered loudly and even booed when the Brexit boycott was mentioned. However, at a conference where anti-Progress t-shirts are on show, there are serious questions to be asked about how long these members can stay a part of Labour on its current trajectory. There is a lot of anger on both sides and while they can all praise the better-than-expected election result, the Europe question exacerbates tensions. Several MPs at the event wrote off the idea of a new centrist party – arguing that Labour is their true home. However, if Corbyn does back a Brexit in which Britain leaves the single market, customs union and ends free movement, one gets the impression a lot of the people in the room would flock willingly to a new centrist party.
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