What happened on ITV’s Peston last night

ITV’s Peston was particularly newsworthy last night. Here are the main takeaways…

Lisa Nandy confirmed that shadow cabinet members were unhappy about Labour backing another EU referendum.

.@lisanandy says many of her constituents and certain members of the Shadow Cabinet were unhappy with Labour’s announcement on Monday.

Full interview – 11.10pm @ITV #Peston pic.twitter.com/4aS9Gh6bUA

— Peston (@itvpeston) February 27, 2019

Nandy referred to the argument against another public vote that it would not be valid either with or without ‘no deal’ on the ballot paper.

The MP for Wigan said: “Large numbers of my constituents are now saying they want to vote for no deal at all. And there’s a real problem here because not listening to people… is frankly what got us here in the first place.

“We’re about to go back and repeat all those same mistakes again. And worse than that, actually, we’re not being clear with people still.

“You’ve got members of the shadow cabinet, for example, with deep reservations about this, as surprised as anyone to hear this announcement on Monday.”

McDonnell said the move will be made when the second meaningful vote is held.

BREAKING: @johnmcdonnellMP tells @peston that @UKLabour will put down an amendment calling for a second referendum as soon as the meaningful vote comes back, which could be next week.

Full interview 11.10pm @ITV #Peston pic.twitter.com/yVosoZw1hQ

— Peston (@itvpeston) February 27, 2019

On when an amendment backing a fresh EU referendum will be tabled, the Shadow Chancellor said: “When the meaningful vote comes back, and we’re told maybe that might be March 12… there’s rumours today that it could be next week.”

Asked whether it will be done at “the first opportunity”, McDonnell replied: “Of course.”

John McDonnell said he would back ‘Remain’ in another public vote.

.@johnmcdonnellmp confirms he would vote “Remain” in a second referendum #Peston pic.twitter.com/RiWRI66QCH

— Peston (@itvpeston) February 27, 2019

Asked whether he would back ‘Remain’ in another EU referendum, McDonnell said: “Yes, I would, because I did last time and I think it’s the right thing to do.”

McDonnell said it will become easier to get a ‘people’s vote’ through the Commons.

The more MP’s worry about jobs and the economy the more likely it is that Brexit will go back to the people says @UKlabour’s Shadow Chancellor @johnmcdonnellMP #Peston pic.twitter.com/8lbeXX7Uup

— Peston (@itvpeston) February 27, 2019

There is currently little chance of an amendment supporting another EU referendum passing, as too few 10 Tories would vote for it and there are dozens of potential Labour rebels.

But McDonnell countered that it would become more likely as MPs worried more about jobs and the economy.

Lisa Nandy and Wes Streeting rowed with John McDonnell over Labour’s handling of antisemitism.

Labour’s @wesstreeting and @lisanandy tell @johnmcdonnellMP that he is not telling the truth on how previous cases of antisemitism were dealt with within the Labour Party.

Full interview 11.10pm @ITV #Peston pic.twitter.com/kZHFHW49L9

— Peston (@itvpeston) February 27, 2019

In light of Chris Williamson’s suspension, they argued about the case of Labour MP for Bradford West Naz Shah, who was suspended from the party in April 2016 after being accused of antisemitism.

Lisa Nandy, who was in the shadow cabinet at the time, said: “I was trying to get answers out of the leader’s office… I was live on telly, being asked questions about it.

“It had been going on at that point for 24 hours. And no action had been taken… That changed after pressure from members of the shadow cabinet and members of the PLP.”

But James Mills, former strategic advisor to Jeremy Corbyn, tweeted: “I was with John when this decision was taken – he’s telling the truth. I like Wes & Lisa, so nothing personal at all, they just don’t have all the details on this specific case.”

Nandy replied: “Sorry James, I thought you were better than this. I spent all morning on the phone trying to get you to take action and was told you’d decided to “draw a line under it”. So at midday I had to go onto Daily Politics (booked in advance) and say in my view she ought to be suspended.”

PoliticsHome‘s Emilio Casalicchio‏ has explained via a helpful tweet thread that Nandy’s account refers to Shah’s suspension – not sacking as PPS – and is therefore correct. The Guardian‘s timeline supports this understanding.