Labour chairman Ian Lavery fails to back second referendum as Jeremy Corbyn suffers Brexit rebellions
4 min read
Labour chairman Ian Lavery failed to back a second EU referendum as Jeremy Corbyn was hit by a wave of rebellions on Brexit.
The senior frontbencher broke a three-line whip by abstaining on a motion backing a public vote on whatever Brexit deal is passed by the Commons.
He was joined by Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office, Jon Trickett, who also defied orders by not voting on the motion in the name of Labour MPs Peter Kyle and Phil Wilson.
The pair also rebelled on the same issue last week, but dodged any disciplinary action by party bosses.
They were among 24 Labour MPs who rebelled on a second referendum, including Melanie Onn, who quit as a shadow housing minister after the last vote, and Sheffield City mayor Dan Jarvis.
Meanwhile, more than two-dozen Labour MPs defied Jeremy Corbyn's orders to back a Norway-style soft Brexit as the Commons failed to get behind any alternative EU plan.
Twenty-five of the party's MPs voted against the 'Common Market 2.0' plan on Monday night despite being whipped to back it.
The rebels included Brexit-backing MPs Kate Hoey and Graham Stringer, as well as Owen Smith, the former Labour leadership challenger who is pushing for a second referendum.
Former frontbench aide Ruth Smeeth, Gareth Snell and John Mann, who all represent seats which backed Leave, also defied party orders to vote against the proposal, which would have involved membership of the EU's single market and customs union and would see the UK subject to EU rules on the free movement of people.
Eighteen Labour MPs also ignored party orders to back a plan tabled by the SNP's Joanna Cherry to revoke Article 50, while 10 rejected Conservative grandee Ken Clarke's proposal for a permanent customs union with the EU - a key plank of Labour's Brexit policy. That proposal lost by just three votes.
Speaking after the latest round of votes, Mr Corbyn said it was "disappointing that no solution has won a majority".
But he added: "The margin of defeat for one of the options tonight was very narrow indeed and the Prime Minister’s deal has been rejected by very large majorities on three occasions.
"If it is good enough for the Prime Minister to have three chances at her deal then I suggest that possibly the House should have a chance to consider again the options that we had before us today, in a debate on Wednesday, so that the House can succeed where the Prime Minister has failed, in presenting a credible economic relationship with Europe for the future that prevents us crashing out with no deal."
A Labour spokesperson said: "The circumstances of last night's votes were exceptional. But it’s clear we need to find common ground in Parliament to stop either a disastrous no deal Brexit or the Prime Minister’s botched deal.
"Labour is well placed to lead these efforts as our MPs represent constituencies that voted both Leave and Remain. It is now a matter for the leader and the whips."
'FALLBACK'
The rejection of all four alternative Brexit plans anger from MPs opting for a softer EU deal, who accused those backing a second Brexit referendum of scuppering an attempt at compromise.
Mr Clarke, the Conservative MP whose customs union plan came closest to passing, said MPs should have voted "for something you have no objection to as a fallback position".
Labour's Stephen Kinnock, who had been pushing the Common Market 2.0 plan alongside Mr Boles, said he had been willing to also cast his vote for a second referendum.
"It was therefore very disappointing to see that 33 colleagues who are campaigning for a referendum chose not to reciprocate," he told the Guardian.
"It appears that some of us were acting in good faith and in a spirit of compromise whilst others were not."
Liberal Democrat Norman Lamb, whose party officially backs a so-called People's Vote, said: "We have failed in our responsibility today. There has been far too much posturing and intransigence, including from my own party."
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