Labour’s Brexit spokesman Keir Starmer said the party was ready to be “the grown-ups in the room” and take charge of negotiations to leave the European Union, cautioning against taking anything off the table when looking at Britain’s future ties with the EU.
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Blair and Progress tried to concentrate power at the top of the party.
Corbyn and his allies are increasingly dominant in the party and numerous amendments are likely to pass. But he gave in on Friday after an outcry from Labour MPs. Mr. Khan, who has been critical of Mr. Corbyn in the past and backed Owen Smith’s leadership challenge a year ago, had not been expected to address the annual gathering.
And he recited an adapted version of the socialist anthem The Red Flag to warn party members the hard-left’s grip on the leadership is here to stay.
The email told delegates, the majority of whom are aligned with the party’s left, that Brexit was already due be debated at the conference, but omitted to say that no vote would be held on issues such the single market unless Brexit was made one of eight priority issues on the ballot.
When he addressed the conference a year ago, Mr Khan criticised Mr Corbyn and backed Owen Smith in the 2016 leadership challenge.
“The election has changed politics in this country”, Corbyn told The Guardian newspaper in a recent interview, adding that “the strength of the party” would be the focus of the conference in Brighton on England’s south coast. This shows that such a position is widely shared in the party.
Labour needs to do more to speak to non-cosmopolitan voters. “Hatred of Jews shall not be evidenced by non-abusive words or actions regarding Israel or Zionism that are part of legitimate political discourse”, the proposed constitutional amendment reads. Many would consider that outright expropriation of private property – or theft.
Mr Corbyn claimed “our party plus our movement for social change” could create “a society that generally cares for all rather than the arid, nasty individualism that we inherited from the Thatcher era”.
And he boasted about his hopes to install Mr Corbyn and his left-wing policies into Downing Street’ and the heart of national life. The clash of views over Brexit is real, and it is now on display. The NEC makes decisions on the rules and direction of the Labour Party, and can send motions to Labour Party conference.
Asked whether he thought Brexit splits could “spill over into a debate which could tear the party in two”, Mr Gwynne replied: “It could, if we’re not careful”.
Stephen Doughty MP said it was “utterly bizarre” not to debate Brexit at the conference and former shadow health secretary Heidi Alexander MP said she was “gobsmacked”.
Meanwhile restaurateurs and hoteliers are bracing themselves for the influx of members, delegates and trades unionists. Under this proposal a candidate could stand in a leadership contest with 15 percent of the votes of affiliated national trade unions or with backing of 15 percent of constituency Labour parties.
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He is the most senior Labour figure in office, but was facing moves by the party’s leadership to be given the same his speaking time at the conference as an ordinary member. But they are nearly certain to go through.
