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LABOUR was accused of betraying Britain today after the party opened the door to keeping the UK in the EU.

Sir Keir Starmer got a standing ovation from Remainers for insisting that staying in the bloc COULD be on the table in a future referendum.

 Sir Keir Starmer said Labour will vote down Theresa May's Brexit deal
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Sir Keir Starmer said Labour will vote down Theresa May's Brexit deal

In comments that will infuriate the five million Labour voters that opted for Brexit, he said today: "It is right for Parliament to have the first say but if we need to break the impasse, our options must include campaigning for a public vote - and nobody is ruling out remain as an option."

In another day of chaos for Labour, the Brexit boss re-opened his public row with a string of other top figures in the party - who have vowed that Remain can't be an option if the party backed another vote.

Fuming Brexiteers said his declaration was a "betrayal of the highest order".

Brendan Chilton, General Secretary of Labour Leave, stormed: "Keir is willing to sell our party and voters down the river to advance his interests."

 He got a standing ovation from keen activists today for saying Remain was on the table
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He got a standing ovation from keen activists today for saying Remain was on the table

And he added: "He does not respect the democratic process and, even worse, he does not respect our voters."

Tory party chairman Brandon Lewis accused the opposition of breaking its own manifesto promises - which vowed to respect the result of the referendum.

He blasted: "In the space of one morning, he has refused to rule out delaying Brexit, refused to confirm Labour would end freedom of movement, and opened the door to staying in the EU with a second referendum. Labour’s promises on Brexit aren’t worth the paper they’re written on."

Within minutes of Sir Keir's dramatic intervention, he was immediately slapped down by other senior colleagues and Labour figures.

  • Emily Thornberry appeared to rule out a second Brexit referendum - suggesting it would be "anti-democratic" to overturn the result of the 2016 vote. Speaking at a fringe event hosted by The Times, the Shadow Foreign Secretary said: "I think there are some deeply anti-democratic forces around Europe and in Britain too, and I'm not going to be part of that."
  • Unite's Steve Turner raged that it would destroy public trust in the party. He stormed on the main stage: "Despite what Keir said earlier, we need a people's vote on the deal. We can't reopen the wounds."
  • Ex-Labour MP and Change Britain Chair Gisela Stuart warned that Labour would alienate millions "from Labour heartlands who voted to take back control and further damage the trust between the public and politicians".
  • Another delegate, David Mallon, erupted with fury too. He blasted: "We voted overwhelmingly to leave. For too long, [people in my area] have feel marginalized, like they have not had their voices heard. I believe the European Union to be for a capitalist club, for the few, not the many. This is a total and utter farce."

Jeremy Corbyn deepened the confusion tonight when he refused to say whether or not he would vote for Remain in a second referendum.

He told Five News: "It depends what the question is in a referendum. You don't know what the question would be any more than I do.

"We will decide as a party when the referendum comes what our position will be.

"It's a hypothetical question on a hypothetical referendum, when the Government has not yet concluded the negotiations.”

And he insisted Sir Keir’s speech had his backing despite the huge row it sparked.

Asked if he believes Britain will actually leave the EU in March next year, Mr Corbyn said: "At the moment it looks like it, and we will challenge this Government with the six tests. If they don't meet them, then we will vote against them.”

The party are bitterly divided on Brexit as they meet in Liverpool for their annual conference.

Remainers are fighting for the party to publicly back another referendum with the option to ignore the 2016 vote and overturn Brexit.

But others - including Jezza ally Len McCluskey, say it would alienate Brexiteers in Labour's northern heartlands and put them off ever voting for the party again.

Mr Murray is a close ally of Jeremy Corbyn
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Corbyn listened intently to speeches in the hall today - and applauded those who said Labour should push for an election not another referendumCredit: Alamy Live News

Keir as mud: Labour's twists and turns over Brexit

LABOUR has repeatedly changed its position on Brexit in a bid to avoid alienating any of the party’s warring factions.

The party backed Remain during the 2016 referendum, but the day after the vote Jeremy Corbyn called on the Government to trigger the Article 50 process immediately.

In last year’s election, Labour suggested they wanted to quit the EU customs union and single market - in an echo of the Tories’ policy.

But in the year since the party has taken a much softer line and is now officially in favour of staying IN the customs union.

Many backbench MPs and grassroots activists want Labour to go even further and come out in support of a second referendum.

Yesterday the party announced a fudge in an attempt to keep both sides happy - by saying the party is likely to back a new Brexit referendum, but it wouldn’t include an option to stay in the EU.

But Keir Starmer has muddied the waters by insisting that Remain WOULD be on the ballot paper in any future referendum.

The party’s dilemma is that last year it picked up millions of votes from young Remainers who have turned against the Tories because of Brexit.

But if Labour take an overly pro-EU line they risk alienating older working-class voters who have backed the party all their lives but voted for Brexit in 2016.

 John McDonnell said that Remain wouldn't be on any future ballot paper
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John McDonnell said that Remain wouldn't be on any future ballot paper

And Labour are set to vote down ANY deal Theresa May gets with the EU - because it won't meet the party's six tests.

The move leaves Mrs May brutally exposed to a rebellion by restive Tory backbenchers, with fewer than a dozen able to fracture her fragile control of the Commons in the upcoming vote.

Sir Keir told TalkRadio today that he would push back our EU exit if Labour won power: "Well the answer is it depends, because we don't know when we're going to get a deal.

"I don't think at this stage anybody is talking about extending Article 50 but if it has to be extended quite frankly it will be because of the collapsing failure of the discussions and the negotiations."

Elsewhere in his party conference speech today Sir Keir said the referendum vote showed how Leave voters were unsatisfied with the state of Britain today.

He declared: "It was a vote on the state of the nation. About the way our economy and politics work – or don’t work.

"And the message from millions of people was clear.

"We need to transform our economy. We need to rebuild our public services. We need to bring power back to our communities and back to people’s lives.

"There can be no adequate response to the referendum unless the right deal with the EU is matched by a new deal for Britain.

"That’s the other side of Brexit."

Corbyn would be terrible at negotiating Brexit, voters think

ALMOST three quarters of Brits think Jeremy Corbyn would be "incompetant" at negotiating Brexit, a new poll said today.

Fresh data from Sky revealed that 71 per think think the Labour boss would be not good at getting a good deal for Britain.

Just 22% think he would be.

And 68 per cent think the party as a whole wouldn't do a good job either, the poll shows.

It comes just as Labour said they would vote against Theresa May's Brexit deal as it won't meet their six tests.

Instead they say they would extend article 50 - pushing back our Brexit date - and try and secure a better deal with the EU

 And Barry Gardiner said the party's Brexit policy was a "loonie tunes" idea
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And Barry Gardiner said the party's Brexit policy was a "loonie tunes" ideaCredit: Rex Features
Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell says Labour's second Brexit referendum wouldn't include an option to remain in the EU

 

What are Labour's six Brexit tests?

  1. Does it ensure a strong and collaborative future relationship with the EU?
  2. Does it deliver the “exact same benefits” as we currently have as members of the Single Market and Customs Union?
  3. Does it ensure the fair management of migration in the interests of the economy and communities?
  4. Does it defend rights and protections and prevent a race to the bottom?
  5. Does it protect national security and our capacity to tackle cross-border crime?
  6. Does it deliver for all regions and nations of the UK?

Sir Keir also revealed that he hasn't changed his mind on the EU and would still vote to stay in if another vote was held tomorrow.

"Oh yes, I would vote in," he told BBC Radio 5 Live. "I voted in last time, I'd vote in if the question was ever put again."

Both Jeremy Corbyn and Tom Watson have agreed to accept whatever comes out of conference, even if that means backing their members and going for another referendum.

But MPs in leave seats are furious that Labour could open the door to overturning the referendum and staying in the EU altogether.

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