Labour councillors at odds with Jeremy Corbyn as they urge voters to help stop Brexit
1 min read
Labour candidates in next month's local elections are pushing for Britain to stay in the EU, despite Jeremy Corbyn's official position of backing the Brexit referendum result.
The Sunday Telegraph reports that Labour's Stephen Cowan, who leads Hammersmith and Fulham council, has written to voters urging them to use the upcoming vote "to say no to Brexit".
Meanwhile, two other Labour council candidates have vowed to "send a clear message" that they "are against Brexit and the lack of certainty about the rights of EU citizens".
“The vote on 3 May presents possibly the only opportunity for you to influence the Brexit debate,” the candidates write. “Please take it.”
The paper also highlights a petition by Mr Cowan touting Hammersmith & Fulham Labour's "independent stand" as "the right thing to do".
"Whatever happens next will affect our country and our continent for generations to come. We are campaigning to stay in the EU," he says.
The move was condemned by pro-Brexit Labour MP Graham Stringer, who said the party's manifesto had been "quite clear that we were going to implement the decision of the referendum in leaving the European Union".
A Labour spokesman told the Sunday Telegraph that the party "accepts the referendum" and said that a "Labour government will put the national interest first".
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