tony nog Profile picture
Sep 23, 2018 17 tweets 8 min read Twitter logo Read on Twitter
1) Calm thread on #PeoplesVote & #LabourConference2018
I'm not a fan of Corbyn, but I'm going to try to keep this fair

It's fair to say the campaign for a people's vote is a major force for this week's conference
100s of motions from the CLPs
Corbyn said he'd respect conference
2) Now, obviously politics is complex however Corbyn did say he came into the Leadership to empower the members - yes, Blair & other leaders probably played dodgy tricks in these "compositing" events but Corbyn specifically said he would be different & far more democratic
3) Spreading democracy outwards is a core belief of Corbyn, into CLPs, communities, businesses, everywhere.

Obviously as well, going for a #PeoplesVote carries some risk for the Labour party, in terms of how the press might react.

But this shouldn't, in the end, matter
4) The Labour party membership overwhelmingly support a vote on Brexit, by 9 to 1.

And it's not a stretch to believe that the vast majority of those want an option to remain.

And although obviously the leadership has a right to put its viewpoint, there's only 6 months left
5) this is the last conference before #Brexit, which *will* happen in 6 months, deal or no deal, unless an extension can be justified by a democratic event (such as a GE or a People's vote)

And Labour members are very concerned, so concerned that they've raised 150 motions
6) so here's the gist - the Labour membership overwhelmingly wants a proper vote on Brexit, and almost certainly an option to Remain.

It may, or may not, be savvy for Labour (though I suspect it is) but that shouldn't matter.

Democracy should take precedence
7) The members are supposed to be empowered, and they've spoken with the clearest possible voice.

If the output of the selection process results in a motion that does not clearly, unambiguously call for a people's vote, then democracy has failed in the Labour party
8) once again, it does not matter if the Labour Leadership, or Len McCluskey, or @billybragg thinks a people's vote is a bad idea - you either listen to the members or the whole "Greater democracy/new kind of politics" is meaningless.
@billybragg 9) The members have seen Labour's brexit approach - but they also see the car crash coming towards them, and they're worried. And they've expressed clearly across 150 or so CLPs what they want to do about it
@billybragg 10) I hope that a clear unambiguous #PeoplesVote motion appears tomorrow, it still might.

But even if it does, it's saddening that there was any level of horsetrading from the Leadership to try to thwart it.
@billybragg 11) if a motion that reflects the huge swell of feeling on a #PeoplesVote *doesn't* appear tomorrow then there's only one conclusion - Corbyn doesn't serve the Labour party, it serves him, and Labour is not a democracy

But I really hope it does, so I can focus on the Tories
End/
@billybragg Postscript
12) it looks like the following #brexit motion has been agreed. Well done to the Labour Remain & People's Vote teams - they have managed to move the leadership

However, Labour is *not* a functioning democracy I'm afraid to say - here's why
@billybragg 13) firstly the motion itself is weak & full of holes. Brexit talks will not "collapse", they'll just struggle on till the last minute.
And what is the timetable for "securing an election"? Feb 28th 2019? How can Labour even "secure an election"?
@billybragg 14) but most importantly this does *not* reflect what those motions asked for
The Labour Leadership wanted a pro #Brexit GE, the membership wanted an unambiguous #PeoplesVote with an option to Remain.

The Leadership undoubtedly prevailed over the members
@billybragg 15) the motion isn't even really a compromise, as it's the exact "all options on the table" message Keir Starmer has been briefing. At best, McDonnell & Corbyn are now more aligned with Starmer.
But this is still a PeopleVote tacked on as an extra with unclear triggers
@billybragg 16) it may be strategic, savvy or the best tactics for Labour, but it's not what the members wanted, it's what the Leadership wanted. There's no doubt about this. The leadership overruled the party.
@billybragg 17) this has been a calm #brexit thread, so it's not great to end on a "punchline", but the reality is Corbyn has showed far more respect for (mostly Tory) Leave Voters than the hopes & wishes of his own members

Labour is not a democracy anymore
#LabourConference2018

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More from @tony_nog

Oct 7, 2018
1) It's still Hard #Brexit - thread
Couple of things to point out as we head to "Canada ++++"

A) it suits the EU as a fallback but
B) as far as the UK is concerned, its still damaging, draining, hardest of hard Brexits & nothing to be celebrated
Here's what we've forgotten
2) firstly, yes the EU27 would prefer we remain & if not they'd prefer a close arrangement - but at this point they'd settle for the island of Ireland being protected & an orderly exit

They're not going to save us from ourselves

They can minimise the damage of UK leaving SM
3) so let's not kid ourselves that the EU27 will make sure we get a good deal or one that has minimal damage to the UK, they will look after each other, they have to.

All the ++ means is cooperation in certain areas, not untold riches or a "special deal"
Read 5 tweets
Sep 29, 2018
1) Thread - Labour, dodgy right Brexit activities & missed opportunities
Today I was a bystander in a discussion between @OwenJones84 & @JolyonMaugham around tweeting on Vote Leave's illegal spending, which I think is part of a bigger missed opportunity on #Brexit for Labour
2) Lets just be honest - the Tory party & #Brexit has always been dodgy. Charlatans who misled people given high government office and all that. But the last few months have had some significant revelations of dubious practices, only one of which was Vote Leave illegal spending
3) I wont't even get a complete list here but some highlights are:
- Cambridge Analytica "harvested accounts" scandal
- Links with AIQ & the Trump campaigns
- Vote Leave overspending
- Lack of clarity on Leave.EU funding
Read 15 tweets
Sep 29, 2018
1) Some excellent ideas being developed here by @RichardElwes and @sjwrenlewis

Will just add a few thoughts on the #Brexit trap for either party

There are no good #Brexits economically but neither are there politically, for either party
@RichardElwes @sjwrenlewis 2) (sorry, 2 "either"s there....)
As with Richard, this is not about my beliefs but public perception
Soft Brexit = Betrayal/Vassal state portrayal from Leavers, instant political cost

Hard Brexit = economic cost, which obviously leads to political cost in short order
@RichardElwes @sjwrenlewis 3) the public are fickle, and even if for example lucrative Free Trade Deals were out there the leaver vote is as likely to be more protectionist in nature.
Many leavers may see Free trade as "everyone else buying our stuff, with no downside on our industry in return"
Read 6 tweets
Sep 28, 2018
1) Corbyn, control & democracy
The attempt to crush the #PeoplesVote initiative from Corbyn's team should ring alarm bells for anyone who values democracy
& transparency, inside Labour or outside. He is and will always be an authoritarian

#Lab18
2) you can argue back and forth on whether a #PeoplesVote is strategically good, bad or horrendous for Labour, or that Corbyn's offer to work with the Tories on #Brexit is "political theatre". The fact is the new Labour position is the exact opposite of what the members wanted
3) the reality is, 150 local parties submitted motions and the overwhelming majority supported a people's vote with an option to remain.

That has somehow completely transformed into a Labour offer to compromise the 6 tests for a Tory led Brexit
Read 6 tweets
Sep 28, 2018
1) Was determined to back off Labour & Corbyn this week & support them going forward on #Brexit

But now this, following Corbyn's speech.

Corbyn's team want Brexit. They don't want to listen to the members on a #PeoplesVote & now it's been raised, they are switching position
2) let's just look at the chronology
I) Starmer (but no one else in Leadership) talks occasionally over last 2 years about "exact same benefits" 6 tests
ii) privately, @BarryGardiner describes them as nonsense
@BarryGardiner 3) iii) in run up to conference, probably because they know there is a huge influx of CLP motions asking for an early vote, Corbyn & others start talking about the 6 tests really for the first time.
Read 13 tweets
Sep 26, 2018
1) Great article on why #Brexit is insoluble
We can rail about respecting the vote, the EU being stubborn,May being incompetent etc all day long. The fact is it cannot be negotiated successfully, and anyone who believes otherwise is mistaken
#Lab18

blogs.lse.ac.uk/brexit/2018/09…
2) reasons are very simple, and always have been. The deal that was promised & any feasible deal are so far apart as to be unrecognisable

Either Brexit will be so painful that it will destroy the party who implements or so meaningless that it would be embarrassing to implement
3) half the country do not want Brexit, the other half (apart from the hardcore) voted for the pain free, cake & eat it easy brexit that was promised.

There is *no* feasible Brexit that would gain a majority in the UK & non possible within the EU & UKs red lines
Read 4 tweets

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