Theresa May is setting a trap for Jeremy Corbyn, of that there can be no doubt. The only question now is: will he fall straight into it? Or will he have the wisdom, leadership and courage to see straight through it?
After two-and-a-half years of closed-door negotiations, the UK has been presented with a truly disastrous Withdrawal Deal – a deal so terrible that even many Tory MPs won’t vote for it. Now the full horror of Theresa May’s deal is clear for all to see, she is turning in desperation to Labour to dig her out of the hole she has created – and trap us into taking the blame when it eventually falls for good.
This dramatic U-turn from the Prime Minister is rightly being viewed with intense suspicion by many in the Labour Party. One thing is very clear, the Tories have put their own needs first throughout this process, ignoring the best interests of the UK, its people and businesses. This new so-called ‘spirit of cooperation’ is just another part of this devious strategy.
Numerous attempts have been made by moderate Labour MPs such as Lisa Nandy and Gareth Snell to reach out towards a collective approach to deliver the referendum result. These approaches have been consistently rebuffed, or when entertained, Labour’s suggestions have been ignored.
Jeremy Corbyn must consider this backdrop and ask himself: why now? Why is Theresa May suddenly interested in our opinion? The answers are plain to see: her Withdrawal Agreement has been an abject failure, causing the largest Parliamentary defeat in recorded history. The Conservative Party are splitting at the seams, with senior MPs appearing on national broadcasters spitting feathers and telling their own Chancellor “up yours!”, and the polling is showing a growing lead for the Labour Party.
But perhaps even more than this, there is an increasing chance that the UK will either not leave the UK at all, or drop out without a deal. These are two results May seems unable to countenance, so she is attempting to draw in the opposition front bench to share the responsibility of failing to implement the result of the largest democratic vote in history.
These talks are nothing more than window dressing; an attractive and compelling trap that gives the impression of collaboration in order to ultimately distribute blame for the inevitable failure of the deal. Jeremy Corbyn must not fall into this trap. To do so would weaken his credibility and prop up the strategy of the Conservative Party. The failure of this deal lies solely with the Tory leadership, and there should be no backhanded political manoeuvrings to tar Corbyn with the same brush.
Of course, Corbyn should always look to embrace attempts at cross-party collaboration on the biggest issue this country faces, but not with a weak Prime Minister with no shred of authority left. In fact, the Labour leader has been engaging in far more productive cross-party discussions than Mrs May, for several weeks. Meetings have taken place between the Labour front-bench and members of other opposition parties to assess areas of consensus, and further talks are clearly necessary following the indicative votes.
It is now obvious to Mrs May that she can’t bring her ERG MPs onside, and the DUP’s attitude is hardening. With no way out, she is desperate to create a fall guy for her paralysis – and this person is Jeremy Corbyn. She has constantly tried to blame Labour for the failure of the deal to pass. But she was the one who promised the British people that “no deal is better than a bad deal”, not Corbyn. If she had engaged right from the start we could easily have told her that her plans would not succeed in the House, and suggested alternative approaches.
Instead of attending meaningless, vacuous discussions, Jeremy Corbyn should now focus his attention on appealing to Labour voters by adopting a democratic approach to Brexit. More than five million Labour supporters voted to leave the European Union. There are vast swathes of the electorate unrepresented by the mainstream political parties. If Corbyn wants to get to Downing Street within the next decade, he must begin to appeal to the working-class communities such as Dudley and Mansfield; those constituencies essential for a Labour victory at the next General Election. Labour is the voice of working people, and they must not be forgotten by those within the Labour leadership.
Theresa May’s own cabinet are politely divided and disenchanted by her Brexit approach, but the country is appalled and increasingly angry. If Corbyn falls for this charade it could be disastrous for our party long-term. These talks are no more than an attempt to spread the blame for not achieving Brexit, or a much-weakened version of it. This is not a mess of our making. The real cause of the national embarrassment faced by Britain is sitting in Number 10 Downing Street right now.
Laura Bierer-Nielsen is director of policy and research at Labour Leave