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Jeremy Corbyn
Jeremy Corbyn held an hour-long meeting with the prime minister. Photograph: Reuters
Jeremy Corbyn held an hour-long meeting with the prime minister. Photograph: Reuters

PM considered separate vote on Brexit withdrawal agreement, Labour claims

This article is more than 5 years old

Labour spokesman says there is no basis for holding third meaningful vote as Downing Street rejects view of meeting

Labour has claimed an increasingly desperate Theresa May suggested severing the Brexit withdrawal agreement from the forward-looking political declaration on Monday, as she made a fresh bid to win Jeremy Corbyn’s backing for her deal.

The Labour leader held an hour-long meeting with the prime minister at Westminster on Monday, alongside the Brexit secretary, Steve Barclay, and his shadow, Keir Starmer, with the two parties’ chief whips.

A Labour spokesperson said Corbyn and May had held a “frank and comprehensive exchange of views” and the Labour leader had “made clear there was no basis for bringing back the meaningful vote on Theresa May’s deal for a third time”.

Corbyn and his colleagues left the meeting with the impression the government was willing to countenance holding a separate vote on the withdrawal agreement – implying that changes to the future relationship could be won later, once the deal had passed.

The spokesperson said: “The Labour leader did not accept the prime minister’s suggestion that the withdrawal agreement could be separated from the political declaration”.

Downing Street sources subsequently rejected Labour’s characterisation of the meeting, claiming the Brexit secretary had merely pointed out to Starmer that last week’s statement from the European council, offering a Brexit delay, only made reference to the withdrawal agreement.

Labour denied that, saying the point had been pressed at the meeting, including by May’s chief of staff, Gavin Barwell.

Corbyn’s spokesman has previously conceded that the changes Labour would like to see to the Brexit deal could be achieved by renegotiating the forward-looking political declaration, which is not legally binding.

“We have said that to achieve the kind of compromise and the alternative plan that we’ve been laying out and discussing with MPs from across the house, that would need to be done through amendments to the political declaration – and could be,” he said.

Labour has expressed reservations about the backstop, but believes it would be much less likely to be triggered if Corbyn’s approach to Brexit was enacted.

However, the Labour leader set out in his letter to the prime minister in February that he would like to see the political declaration renegotiated and the changes enshrined in law, to ensure a future Tory leader could not rip them up.

The idea of separating the two parts of the Brexit deal raises the prospect that the future relationship could be made contingent on votes in parliament – or even on a general election, which Labour would hope could put Corbyn in the driving seat for the next phase of negotiations.

However, asked whether May stood by her insistence that she would not call a general election, a Downing Street spokesman said: “We really, really don’t want a general election.” He insisted that the withdrawal agreement and the political declaration would have to be signed off by MPs to constitute formal ratification of May’s deal.

Corbyn has been walking an increasingly difficult tightrope between an overwhelmingly remain-supporting membership and the desire to take account of leave-voters in many key Labour constituencies.

The shadow cabinet includes confirmed supporters of a second referendum, including Emily Thornberry and Starmer, who drafted the party’s conference motion making a “public vote” part of the party’s policy.

But a number of Corbyn’s key allies, including Jon Trickett and Ian Lavery, as well as potential future leadership contenders Angela Rayner and Rebecca Long-Bailey, have considerable reservations about the idea.

The Labour leader did not attend the vast Put it to the People march in London on Saturday, choosing to campaign against local government cuts in Morecambe instead.

In his response to May’s statement on Monday, Corbyn said: “Large parts of our country continue to be ignored by this government. No wonder so many people felt compelled to march on the streets or sign petitions over the weekend. Even the most ardent of leavers thinks this government has failed.”

Tom Watson, the deputy Labour leader, attended the rally and gave a speech saying he would be willing to support May’s deal in exchange for a public vote on it – the quid pro quo set out in the Kyle-Wilson amendment, devised by a pair of Labour backbenchers.

However, Labour sources suggested that while the party was ready to whip in favour of the amendment, it would not be recommending support for May’s deal on that basis, indicating Watson had gone beyond Labour policy.

It is unclear whether MPs will get the opportunity to vote on Kyle-Wilson, which was devised to be appended to May’s meaningful vote. She has now said she will not bring that back to parliament unless she thinks she can win it.

Backers of a second referendum are now focusing on trying to ensure it is considered in the process of indicative votes – and urging supporters of other options, including a common market-style deal, to accept a public vote on their deal.

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