Thread by @Rory_Palmer

Thank you to everyone who has got in touch to ask about Brexit and my views on the question on a Confirmatory Vote etc, particularly ahead of today's Labour NEC meeting which will discuss our manifesto for the European elections. Thread ⬇️

"I'm never going to vote again. Never. You've all had it for me. Even in another referendum I just won't vote and I've always voted." This was said to me yesterday when I was out canvassing, and it reflects the sentiment of many, many doorstep conversations in recent weeks.

That sentiment has been expressed to me by people who voted Leave in 2016 AND by people who voted Remain in 2016: people are thoroughly frustrated, hacked off with politics. People are absolutely fed-up with the Brexit process: our politics cannot go on like this.

In line with Labour's policy agreed at Conference last year my first preference for breaking the impasse would have been - and still would be - a General Election. That would give people the chance to pass their verdict on this dreadful, failing Tory Government.

It has not been possible to secure a General Election. I support the policy agreed by Labour Party members at last year's Conference, and in my view we are now in the 'third phase' of that policy. (full text of the policy motion here: labourlist.org/2018/09/labour…)

From Labour's conference motion: 'If the Government is confident in negotiating a deal that working people, our economy and communities will benefit from they should not be afraid to put that deal to the public' I AGREE.

In my view one of the strongest arguments for this is put by @Tim_Roache: trade unions are given a mandate to negotiate a deal, the detail and final nature of a deal is then put back to the members to approve or reject.

Given the prospectus put forward by the Leave campaign in 2016 is so different to what is proposed now - and that the implications of what Leaving would mean are now more fully defined (they were not in 2016), people should have the chance to approve or reject the deal.

I am not expressing a new view here: I have said this many times inc in speeches at East Midlands Labour Conference, the regional TUC conference a couple of weeks ago, in the media, at many, many meetings.
However, I do have reservations about a Confirmatory Vote:

I understand why so many people, particularly in the Midlands and the North, voted to Leave. I was saddened, incredibly so, by the 2016 result but I wasn't surprised by it. I grew up in an area that voted Leave, I have campaigned in countless elections in areas that voted Leave

I spent the vast majority of my time campaigning in the 2017 General Election in communities that had voted strongly to Leave. The 2016 cross-party Remain campaign failed catastrophically to build any sort campaign that resonated with people in these areas.

So, in making any case for a Confirmatory Vote on a final deal, there has to be real, genuine recognition of these failings - as well as a firm understanding that people will have real and understandable concerns about the prospect of another vote.

People feel incredibly strongly that they had their say in 2016, that they voted then, the decision should be implemented. People voted in good faith. But all of us - Leave & Remain - have been fundamentally failed by Theresa May's Government on Brexit (+ much else) since then

We are almost three years on from the 2016 vote. There is no credible deal for Leaving: the PM's deal has been rejected three times by Parliament. Unlike the rest of us, MPs have had several chances to change their minds on the deal -several have done so.

From a Labour point of view, members & activists want clarity at this juncture. We are heading towards European elections, we must be campaigning to *win* those elections: the momentum of doing so is an important staging post towards the next General Election, whenever it is

Supporting a Confirmatory Vote on a final deal is not without its risks: some of the most prominent voices for the 'Peoples' Vote' have not done enough to convince me they understand what went wrong in 2016 and not to repeat the mistakes of that campaign.

What has become apparent in recent weeks in dozens and dozens of doorstep conversations is that we risk losing support not because of what Labour's position is, but because people are increasingly unclear what it is.

The big risk now is that we lose support from those who support Remain, those who voted Leave *and* those who want the chance to revisit the question altogether. A Confirmatory Vote on a Leave deal - with a Remain option - provides a route for everyone:

Those who want to Leave with a deal can vote to do so (with the detail of a credible Leave deal known); those who want to vote to Remain can do so; those who want to change their minds from 2016 can do so.

One of my biggest frustrations and concerns since 2016 is the Govt's failure to bring the country back together: one thing is clear and that is there need's to be a fuller and better national conversation on all of this.

The model of Citizens Assemblies advocated by MPs inc @stellacreasy & @lisanandy has real merit and ought to be explored: I also want a mechanism for young people to formally have their say in the event of a further vote.

I absolutely understand the concerns of those arguing against a Confirmatory Vote. These have been well put & consistently by MPs like @GloriaDePiero & @OnnMel. In many ways their arguments reflect my reservations about a Confirmatory Vote, but I reach a different conclusion.

I've campaigned for @GloriaDePiero at General Elections and will do so again - she's a fantastic MP, as is @OnnMel. We may reach different conclusions on this but I respect and understand their arguments/ concerns.

This fundamentally comes down to what each of us thinks is now best for the country. With Westminster in deadlock & no General Election to move the situation forward then it is right that this issue is put back to the people, and for each of us to have our say.