The government’s no deal plans show Corbyn must change tack on Brexit

Until recently I have been sceptical about appeals to the Labour leadership to call for a second referendum. I believed it would too easily be seen as ignoring the will of the people, and make a mockery of a supposedly democratic party. The impact of this on voters whose trust we need cannot be underestimated.

Bur as the real prospect of a ‘no deal’ exit edges closer, it is becoming clearer that the Brexit the Conservatives will give us looks nothing like the various visions of Brexit people voted for. That is why it is time for Jeremy Corbyn to back another vote.

As a campaign organiser, my job is to engage with and listen to voters. From regretful Leavers to Remainers who feel urgent action needs to be taken by the opposition, the desire for a second referendum is growing ever stronger. The latest polls reveal only 18% of the population think Brexit negotiations will end well. A ‘no deal’ exit is the least favoured by people but looks increasingly probable, as the government papers published yesterday show.

People voted to leave the European Union for all sorts of reasons. Some with good faith in the arguments presented by the Leave campaign – among them a stronger economy, liberation from bureaucratic ‘control’ from abroad, and famously, £350m more per week for the NHS.

The ‘no deal’ Brexit that the government is now preparing for offers none of these things. Instead, it threatens to decimate our economy, with many major companies already moving offices and factories out of the UK. The no deal papers published yesterday reveal an endless stream of calamities that Brexit could present.

Headlines highlighted that British pensioners in the EU could lose access to their pensions and the National Farmers Union has forecast ‘disastrous’ consequences on food supply based on the plans. A leaked letter earlier this week reveals ministers are panicking about drug shortages and mass outbreak of disease.

The scale of this disaster cannot be underestimated, and Labour must do everything in its power to avert it. Realistically, however, many people voted leave motivated by desire to close the UK’s borders and even to remove many of the hard working Europeans who have made this country their home. This is one thing that a ‘no deal’ Brexit could deliver. Labour has broadly avoided this as an issue and, like the debate over a second referendum, it is something the party to address head on and for the long term.

The anti-immigration lobby has been making their case relentlessly for decades, and instead of making an equally strong case for freedom of movement and migrants’ rights Labour have shown sympathy for arguments based on stirring up fear and hatred, exemplified in 2015’s ‘controls on immigration’ mugs. Those mugs didn’t just give an ugly policy a quaint gloss, but proudly paraded it.

Hopefully Labour has learnt that capitulating to any anti-immigrant sentiment is not just morally wrong, but it also doesn’t win votes. Instead, it simply legitimises racism and pushes the Overton window to the right. It is something a Labour leadership committed to fighting racism and supporting freedom of movement should take the opportunity to correct. This would be Labour’s biggest challenge going into a second referendum, and as a wrong we must make right whatever happens, it is a challenge that must not deter us from calling for another vote.

I was pleased to hear Keir Starmer himself commit yesterday to keeping a second referendum ‘on the table’, and John McDonnell following suit today. The chaos described in yesterday’s papers provide all the evidence Labour need to finally call for exactly that without being branded as opponents of democracy.

With the Tories admitting their weak position by publishing ‘no deal’ plans, NHS leaders fearing the outbreak of disease with no supplies to cure it, and businesses fleeing an economy set to crash, the time has never been riper for Jeremy Corbyn to call for another referendum. We now have the evidence that the Brexit on the table is not what people voted for, it flies in the face of public safety, and it is morally wrong to boot.

If Labour can successfully communicate the seriousness of the situation, surely most people would welcome the opportunity to protect their healthcare, jobs and the economy – all those things that many may have originally voted leave to protect.

Eden Bailey is a local Labour party campaign organiser and freelance researcher.