Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

Labour’s losing its old heartlands. Backing Remain could make things worse

A moderate, halfway-competent Labour party could crush the Tories. But given that Labour members are Corbynite in inclination, what are the chances of a moderate leader emerging? In my latest Daily Telegraph column, I argue that to change leader now in order to make Labour the party of Remain might well make this even worse for Labour – and create an opportunity for the Tories.

The Morten Morland cover image we ran a few weeks ago – Corbyn depicted as a scarecrow being picked apart by the Brexit Party and the Liberal Democrats – has come to pass. The Brexit crisis has started to polarise voters, with many moving to the Brexit Party and the Lib Dems. Labour and the Tories are suffering badly. The Tories look set to respond by sending Boris Johnson to get ready for a no-deal Brexit. So what should Labour do?

Jeremy Corbyn’s position has been one of strategic ambivalence: he’s against Brexit (or so he says) but accepts the result of the referendum and doesn’t talk much about it. This enrages people like Tom Watson who recently said that Labour’s ‘hearts are Remain and our values are Remain.’ But almost a third of Labour voters support Brexit: what about their heart and values? And might these voters be about to be abandoned? If there is a coup against Corbyn this summer (and in this week’s magazine, Nick Cohen says there could well be) it would be intended to reposition Labour as the party of Remain, with a message cruder than the ‘Bollocks to Brexit’ motto paraded by the Lib Dems. In this scenario, Labour would risk alienating its Leave voters – thinking this is a price worth paying to win back its Remain voters, and perhaps more.

But the Labour voters defecting to the Lib Dems will also be appalled by the anti-Semitism rows, the Chris Williamson debacle and the general capture of Labour by the neo-Marxist left.

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