If you want a pro-EU Labour Party, don’t vote for them tomorrow

The best way to stop Brexit is to support those parties which are unequivocal about staying in the European Union

Hugo Dixon
Wednesday 22 May 2019 08:58 BST
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Betty Boothroyd on Brexit : "A democracy is a nation that allows its people to change its mind"

When you vote in the European Parliament elections tomorrow, remember that Theresa May’s days are numbered.

Bear in mind too that Boris Johnson could soon to be in Downing Street. And consider that he will be set to crash us out of the EU – a course of action so damaging that his government could well fall, triggering a general election.

In other words, when you vote in the European elections, think about the general election lurking in the wings. And reflect on what message you want to send our political leaders, especially Jeremy Corbyn.

Because the message that we send on tomorrow could have a huge influence on what happens to our country, to whether the people get a final say on Brexit and to whether we stay in the EU.

And if you want to stop Brexit, don’t vote Labour.

If a general election wasn’t on the cards, pro-Europeans could take the risk of voting Labour this week. They could say, correctly, that Corbyn has twice whipped in favour of a referendum on the prime minister’s deal – and that he will probably do so again.

But if we end up with a general election, a key question will be what Labour puts in its manifesto. Will it say unequivocally that there must be a referendum, even on any deal that it negotiates? And will it be clear that staying in the EU will be one of the choices in that Final Say vote?

At the moment we don’t know. After all, the party fudged these issues in its European Parliament manifesto.

If Corbyn finally gets off the fence and backs a People’s Vote unambiguously, that will be great. There will then be a good chance that pro-European forces will win such an election, form a government and stop Brexit.

But if Corbyn stays on the fence, the chances of a good outcome will be much lower. Imagine he promises to renegotiate May’s deal but not give the people the final say. Maybe he’ll still creep into Downing Street, in which case we’ll end up with a mushy Corbyn-style Brexit. Or maybe the policy will be so wishy-washy that voters will prefer Johnson, who by that stage could be in an electoral pact with Nigel Farage – and then we’ll be heading for the rocks.

'I'm here to support the most pro-European party in Britain' Guy Verhofstadt joins Lib Dem leader Sir Vince Cable during EU election campaign

So what’s the best way to get Corbyn off the fence? Is it to give him your vote on Thursday and reward him for his ambiguity? Or is it to deny him your vote?

Surely, the worse Labour does in the European elections, the stronger the message Corbyn will receive. Surely, if large numbers of Labour voters desert to the Lib Dems and the Greens, as seems increasingly likely, those within the party who want a more pro-European policy will be strengthened.

So don’t vote Labour on tomorrow. Instead vote for an unambiguously pro-European party. In England, there are three: the Lib Dems, Greens and Change UK. In Scotland and Wales, there are also the SNP and Plaid Cymru.

Some will object that following this advice will mean lots of good Labour MEPs and candidates won’t get elected. That’s true. But it is more important to send a strong message to Corbyn than elect a few more good Labour MEPs. They won’t have a say on whether we get a People’s Vote. And if we don’t stop Brexit, there won’t be any MEPs anyway.

Others will say that following this advice means Farage’s Brexit party will come first on Thursday. But that ship has already sailed. It is well ahead in every opinion poll. If Corbyn had been a clear champion of a People’s Vote at the start, he might have stopped this. But he wasn’t.

What’s more, it’s quite possible that the Lib Dems will pip Labour to the post. The largest poll so far, by YouGov for Best for Britain, shows Vince Cable’s party with its “Bollocks to Brexit” slogan on 17% compared to Labour’s 15%. It will be great if the Lib Dems pulls ahead of Labour because the message to Corbyn that his policy loses votes will be loud and clear.

So if you care to stop Brexit, get out and vote on tomorrow. Don’t put your cross against Labour. Vote instead for a proper pro-European party.

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Hugo Dixon is deputy chair of the People’s Vote alliance and chair of InFacts. Some other parts of the People’s Vote alliance take a different view and say that Labour just merits a vote.

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