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I just want to come back to this in the light of yesterday's vote because I think there's a narrative around this issue that's basically wrong. https://twitter.com/cjayanetti/status/1342172847435902976
The first and most obvious point, for the brainzilla Corbynites, is that unlike before GE19 there was an at least theoretical chance of stopping Brexit (and millions of Labour voters wanted to), and now there isn't.
DUH.
DUH.
But beyond that, while I'm not a Kierleader of any sort - if you think I am, you're wrong - Starmer did make a good argument yesterday.
He said that those Remainers voting against the government (or abstaining for that matter) were hoping the government won.
He said that those Remainers voting against the government (or abstaining for that matter) were hoping the government won.
Every single non-Brexiter MP who voted No or abstained on the vote yesterday wanted the government to win the vote, because otherwise there'd be a No Deal Brexit and they were all opposed to that.
Now, there's an argument for Lab to have voted No, or abstained - but it's a strategic one. It's that Labour should allow the Tories to own this, keep themselves clear of it, enable them more easily to attack its consequences.
Fine. But that's strategy, not principle.
Fine. But that's strategy, not principle.
You cannot seriously make a principled stand when you secretly hope your stand fails. You can't cast a principled vote against something that you hope passes.
That's not a principle. That's a gesture.
That's not a principle. That's a gesture.
So, fine, argue about how Labour should have handled the vote yesterday - but at least own that this is an argument over strategy, not some principled leftism against grubby centrism.
If you're against No Deal, you wanted the govt to win that vote, whether you admit it or not.
If you're against No Deal, you wanted the govt to win that vote, whether you admit it or not.
Dave actually reminded me of something I'd meant to add - that a lot of the left reaction here is Corbynite bitterness at the apparent switch by People's Vote types. https://twitter.com/dave_saul1/status/1344642274727239686?s=20
Which ofc once more ignores the fact that Brexit has now happened, and that most Remain voters now accept the deal (opposing Brexit post-2017 was more a strategic call for Labour than it was principled)
