Labour MPs must vote against article 50 if amendments fail, union chief says

Labour MPs must not “wave through” a Tory Brexit at any cost and should be prepared to defy Jeremy Corbyn’s three-line whip if the bill is not improved, one of the party’s major trade union backers has said.

Manuel Cortes, general secretary of the TSSA union, said if Labour’s amendments to the bill are defeated then the party in parliament must vote against the legislation.

Cortes, whose union endorsed Corbyn in the last two leadership contests, said he “fully supported” the decision to impose a three-line whip on last week’s Commons vote, known as a second reading, but said Brexit should not be delivered “at any cost”.

“The idea of the Tories deploying the threat of mass deportation of EU families living here as a negotiating ace is unacceptable. That alone should be enough to prove why waving through an unamended Tory Brexit bill is a big mistake,” Cortes said.

“If Labour’s amendments fail, then the facts change and our Labour party must face that circumstance, do the right thing and whip our MPs into voting against an unamended Tory Brexit. If they don’t, MPs must themselves do the right thing; they must vote against it anyway.”

Cortes’ intervention comes as MPs begin three days of debate in the Commons over the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill.

Hundreds of amendments have been tabled by MPs of all parties although Theresa May is determined the bill is passed unchanged. Today Cortes used a Guardian article to defend Corbyn’s stance last week, saying that to vote against the bill then would have been like giving the “proverbial two fingers” to voters, but criticised ministers’ claims over the meaning of Brexit.

“Tory cries of ‘take back control’ really stick in my craw”, Cortes said.

“I doubt even many conviction leave voters share a notion of ‘take back control’ which allows even more EU countries to make money at the expense of our UK rail passengers and taxpayers,” he writes.

Cortes writes that the Labour leadership should whip MPs to vote against article 50, should their amendments fail – and even if they are not whipped, he encourages MPs to “do the right thing” and “vote against it anyway”.

He also is critical of the government using EU nationals as “pawns” in the negotiations, saying that there is now “overwhelming” support from across progressive movements for Labour’s amendment to protect them.

He warned of the “ominous” sign of May “cuddling up” to Donald Trump in a desperate bid to offset the costs of Brexit, saying that: “Brexit can’t be used for our country to become a bargain-basement tax haven where workers’ rights, environmental protections and public services are destroyed in a deregulatory bonfire”.

Cortes suggested that “our NHS and other vital public services will be put up for auction to the highest bidder” in a trade deal with Trump so dangerous it would make TTIP look “munificent”.