LIVERPOOL, England — A motion to be voted on by Labour conference on Tuesday instructs the party leadership to “support all options” including campaigning for a “public vote” on Brexit if parliament rejects Prime Minister Theresa May’s divorce deal.
If passed, the motion inches the party’s position on a second referendum forward while also not committing to a specific course of action or what options should be put to the public in any future national vote.
The motion, which emerged from a five-hour meeting Sunday night involving Labour members and trade union reps, explains the party’s preferred option if parliament rejects May’s Brexit deal would be a general election to “sweep the Tories from power.” But if that doesn’t happen, the motion says “Labour must support all options remaining on the table, including campaigning for a public vote,” according to a copy obtained by HuffPost.
It reiterates that Labour’s preferred option is a deal that “guarantees full participation in the single market” and adds that “a no-deal Brexit should be rejected as a viable option and calls upon Labour MPs to vigorously oppose any attempt by this Government to deliver a no-deal outcome.”
In an interview with the Sunday Mirror, the party’s leader Jeremy Corbyn pledged to be bound by whatever the conference decides. “If conference makes a decision I will not walk away from it and I will act accordingly,” he said.