Politics

Brexit: Starmer says it is 'obvious' Labour will back remain despite conference vote – live news


Yesterday the Labour party voted to postpone any decision about how it might campaign in a second referendum on Brexit until after the general election, and after the renegotiation planned by Jeremy Corbyn if he wins. But if anyone thought that was the last word on the matter, they were mistaken. Shortly afterwards, speaking at a fringe event organised by Politico Europe, Sir Keir Starmer, the shadow Brexit secretary, implied that the vote did not matter much because it was “obvious” where Labour would end up. He said:


I have got a pretty clear idea of where the members are on this and therefore I think it is very likely that the members will want us to campaign for remain. We campaigned for remain in 2016, we are currently campaigning for remain against any Tory outcome, and it seems to me obvious where the membership is on this.

Starmer also said he had “mixed feelings” about the hints from Jeremy Corbyn that he might remain neutral in a second referendum.

Today the Labour conference is focusing on the climate emergency. As my colleague Fiona Harvey reports, the party has announced plans to build dozens of new state-owned offshore windfarms ahead of a debate on a proposal for the UK to have a target of cutting net carbon emissions to zero by 2030 – an idea dismissed as impossible by trade unions. Here is Fiona’s story.

But events at the Labour conference will probably be overshadowed by an announcement from the supreme court in London, which will declare whether or not Boris Johnson’s decision to suspend (prorogue) parliament for five weeks was lawful. The government effectively argued that this was a political decision and that it none of the court’s business. Perhaps the court will accept this argument, but many legal observers think it won’t, and so the judgment could have a lasting effect on the constitution, constraining an important power currently available to the PM. (Johnson was able to prorogue using the royal prerogative – a process that allows the PM to take decisions alone, without consulting parliament.) More immediately, the judgment could lead to parliament being reconvened this week (although lawyers are divided on how this would or could happen). Jeremy Corbyn has already said that, if MPs go back early, the first thing the opposition parties will do will be try to pass a move to stop Johnson proroguing again.

Here is the agenda for the day.

10.10am: Rebecca Long-Bailey, the shadow business secretary, speaks at the Labour conference at the start of a debate covering the green new deal and corporate governance.

10.30am: The supreme court delivers its judgment on whether Boris Johnson’s decision to prorogue (suspend) parliament for five weeks was lawful.

12.25pm: Sue Hayman, the shadow environment secretary, speaks at the Labour conference.

2.15pm: Tom Watson, Labour’s deputy leader, speaks at the conference.

As usual, I will be covering breaking political news as it happens, as well as bringing you the best reaction, comment and analysis from the web. I will be covering the supreme court judgment in detail, but also covering events at the Labour conference. I plan to publish a summary when I wrap up.

You can read all the latest Guardian politics articles here. Here is the Politico Europe roundup of this morning’s political news. And here is the PoliticsHome list of today’s top 10 must-reads.

You can read all the latest Guardian politics articles here.

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Sir Keir Starmer addressing Labour conference yesterday.

Sir Keir Starmer addressing Labour conference yesterday. Photograph: Gareth Fuller/PA





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