Labour conference to debate option of fresh Brexit vote

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Labour members are to vote on keeping "all options on the table" on Brexit, including possibly campaigning for a new referendum, at their conference.

The party's leadership wants a general election allowing Labour to take control of negotiations if it won.

However some members want the party to pursue a "people's vote" on Brexit.

Shadow chancellor John McDonnell told the BBC he thought any such vote should be on the terms of a Brexit deal rather than an option to stay in the EU.

He said that Labour would continue to respect the 2016 referendum in which people voted by 51.9% to 48.1% for the UK to leave the European Union.

And he said a general election was needed so a Labour government could strike a Brexit deal with the EU which "brings the country together".

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn accepted he would be "bound" by the outcome of Tuesday's conference motion.

'Consensus in room'
Key delegates - including shadow Brexit secretary Keir Starmer and leading figures from some trade unions - decided the text at a meeting which lasted several hours on Sunday evening.

The final draft for the vote says: "If we cannot get a general election, Labour must support all options remaining on the table, including campaigning for a public vote."

A source told the BBC's political editor Laura Kuenssberg: "There was consensus in the room opposing the Tories' chaotic approach to the Brexit negotiations... and that a general election should be called as soon as any deal is voted down by parliament.

"It was then agreed that if we cannot get a general election Labour must support all options remaining on the table, including campaigning for a public vote."

The Labour Party has never formally rejected the option of a so-called people's vote on Brexit, but both Mr Corbyn and his deputy, Tom Watson, have indicated they would prefer it to be resolved by a general election.

Pressed on the issue on BBC One's Andrew Marr Show on Sunday, Mr Corbyn, who has said he is not calling for another referendum, said "our preference" is for a general election.

He said that would then allow a Labour government to negotiate the UK's future relationship with Europe.

"Let's see what comes out of conference. Obviously I'm bound by the democracy of our party," he added.

Mr Corbyn also told the programme the UK "could be" close to a general election. Amid speculation that Labour could force a vote of no confidence in Prime Minister Theresa May if Parliament rejects any Brexit deal, he said: "We will be putting our case to Parliament and we will see what happens after that. We are absolutely ready for it."

He said Labour would be prepared to vote down any deal Mrs May came back with, if it did not meet a series of tests Labour has set out.

However, Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab has ruled out a snap election this autumn, saying the idea was "for the birds".

The UK is due to leave in March 2019 and Theresa May has been negotiating with other EU leaders on the UK's future relationship with the bloc.

Talks hit a stumbling block at a summit in Salzburg on Thursday when EU leaders rejected Mrs May's plan for Brexit - known as the Chequers agreement, and she warned them she was ready to walk away rather than accept a "bad deal".

For the Lib Dems, who want to stop Brexit, Tom Brake said "Labour leaders are aiding and abetting Theresa May on Brexit" and accused them of trying to "trick and stitch up their own conference" .

He said that any referendum had to include the option of remaining in the EU, because "the only choice a 'deal or no deal' vote gives people is which foot to point the gun at".

Worker representation
In a statement on Sunday, the prime minister said "many in Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the SNP are trying to thwart Brexit at every step and seeking to exploit this moment for political gain" by calling for another referendum and extending Article 50 to delay Brexit.

Labour's conference in Liverpool began on Sunday with policy announcements on plans for worker representation on company boards and to make employers provide up to 10 days' paid leave for victims of domestic violence.

Announcements on Monday will include:

Plans to force all large firms to give shares to their workers netting them up to £500 a year each
Proposals to scrap laws allowing private landlords to evict tenants without giving a reason
A policy to ban the creation of new academy and free schools in England

Brexit is among eight issues to have been chosen for debate at the conference in Liverpool after a ballot by Labour members and trade unions.

The others are Palestine, the economy, housing, schools, government contracts, in-work poverty and justice for the Windrush generation.