,
10 tweets,
2 min read
Read on Twitter
Much over-excitement at Labour's recent press release. Unsurprisingly, it gives little away. There are many unanswered questions. Here's a few of them. 1/
labour.org.uk/press/labour-t…
labour.org.uk/press/labour-t…
The first part (the Labour amendment) expresses a desire for a Labour Brexit. It represents settled policy. The amendment has precious little chance of being adopted. So... the 'next steps' are more interesting. 2/
First, badged as 'doing everything in our power to prevent No Deal and oppose a damaging Tory Brexit', Lab will support the Cooper/Letwin amendment. That will be voted on this week. If it passes, it commits TM to ask for an extension if her deal is rejected on March 13. 3/
This is a positive step. It enables the UK to ask for more time; time which it urgently needs. But... the UK can only ask for an extension. The EU-27 decide whether to grant the extension (perhaps with conditions). 4/
There are many possible reasons for asking for an extension - to implement an agreed deal, to renegotiate the deal (perhaps via a GE), to have a second referendum. An extension may be short (up to July, when the EP starts to sit), or long (21 months is mooted). 5/
If Cooper/Letwin passes, the UK will have to decide within days what case to make to the EU-27. We do not yet know what Labour's position is. What do they envisage using an extension for? 6/
Finally, there is a commitment 'to also putting forward or supporting an amendment in favour of a public vote to prevent a damaging Tory Brexit being forced on the country.' 7/
There is a suggestion that this might be a tweaked version of the Kyle/Wilson amendment. My critique of Kyle/Wilson is here: 8/
Labour's statement says nothing about what the question might be - neither stating that there will be a remain option, or indeed indicating what the leave option might be. If you want a people's vote, I think you should be clear about what the question will be. 9/
All in all then, there is not a lot to be excited about. The positive is the explicit support for Cooper/Letwin. But still a lot of work to do on a) what an extension will be for; and b) what a people's vote would look like. 10/10
