{"id":4070,"date":"2017-09-05T15:24:46","date_gmt":"2017-09-05T19:24:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/diplomacy\/?p=4070"},"modified":"2018-04-19T17:07:13","modified_gmt":"2018-04-19T21:07:13","slug":"diplomacy-brief-828-95","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/journalofdiplomacy\/2017\/09\/diplomacy-brief-828-95\/","title":{"rendered":"The Diplomacy Brief : Labour’s New Brexit Stance, Trump and the Executive, Theresa May, and German Debates"},"content":{"rendered":"

Labour Embraces L’internationale <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Prime Minister Theresa May called a snap election last April<\/a>, it was supposed to give her the largest majority<\/a> the Tories had seen in decades, it was supposed to give her the free hand<\/a> to silence her hardliner backbenchers allowing her to negotiate an exit from the EU, it was supposed to make her a new Thatcher. The conventional wisdom said many things were supposed to happen, but instead Jeremey Corybn, a hard leftist consigned by pundits<\/a>, and members of his party<\/a>, to electoral ruin, rode a wave of discontent to deny Ms. May both her victory and a majority in parliament.<\/p>\n

Since then UK politics has been thrown into chaos. Ms. May has made a deal<\/a> with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) of North Ireland to gain a majority in the House of Commons. For some financial kickbacks for development in North Ireland, the DUP agreed to vote along with the Tories in the house of commons. The move has upset many in North Ireland<\/a> and Great Britain<\/a> alike. Labour has been quick to criticize the move and has loudly questioned Ms. May\u2019s mandate to govern<\/a>, especially her mandate for Brexit.<\/p>\n

Although quick to denounce Ms. May, Corbyn and his party often found themselves in a bind over Brexit. Mr. Corbyn campaigned to stay in the EU, but many believe he did so reluctantly and unconvincingly<\/a>. \u00a0Mr. Corbyn and his circle of leftists have little love for the EU, an institution they believe serves capital far better than workers. In the run-up to the last election, Labour kept their Brexit plan vague<\/a>, a reflection of the party\u2019s internal disagreements on how to proceed on the issue.<\/p>\n

But as of August 26th,<\/sup> that ambiguity has been put to rest. Keir Starmer the Labour Shadow Secretary for Brexit in an Op-ed for the Observer<\/a> has committed Labour to remaining in the EU single market\/customs union for a \u201ctransitionary period\u201d after a deal to exit the EU has been struck, and leaves open the possibility of remaining indefinitely. This firmly places Labour in favouring a \u201cSoft Brexit\u201d.<\/p>\n

Many Europhile Labour MPs and their allies<\/a> have greeted this move with jubilation, finally there is a clear choice for those 48% who voted to remain. Others, however, are worried about what the impact may be on Labour\u2019s electoral fortunes<\/a>. The coalition that drove Corbyn\u2019s electoral surge was driven by both working class Britons and young cosmopolitans, which hold contradictory views on Brexit, the former favouring a \u201cHard Brexit\u201d and the latter a \u201cSoft\u201d one. Although Mr. Starmer was careful to mention that Labour\u2019s stance wasn\u2019t a way to reverse and delegitimize the Brexit vote for those who were Pro-Brexit, It does bear resemblance to what some Brexiteers said the \u201cElites\u201d would do to attempt to thwart the \u201cwill of the people<\/a>\u201d. It remains to be seen if Mr. Corbyn, often described Prime Minister in waiting, can hold together his coalition of young cosmopolitans, hard leftists and working-class Britons.<\/p>\n

This Week\u2019s Diplomacy Brief draws from expert’s and politician’s views on how this significant policy change will drive both the UK\u2019s internal politics as well as the contours of the UK\u2019s exit from the EU.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Opinions on the Labour\u2019s Brexit U-Turn <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n