Local Labour parties call on leadership to commit to revoking Article 50

Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn walks with members of his shadow cabinet (from left) Shadow Business Secretary Rebecca Long Bailey, Shadow Communities Secretary, Andrew Gwynne and Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office. John Trickett. (Photo by Anthony Devlin/Getty Images) - Credit: Getty Images

Scores of local Labour parties have backed a call for the national leadership to support the revocation of Article 50.

Overall, 90 motions that have been submitted to the national party have been related to Brexit, with 81 calling for Labour to explicitly back Remain.

The calls for the revocation of Article 50 are being led by socialist and anti-Brexit group Another Europe is Possible and calls for Labour to commit to campaigning “energetically for a public vote and to Remain” and to “revoking Article 50 if necessary to prevent no deal”.

The party’s existing Brexit policy does not officially back Remain – although some shadow cabinet members have continually insisted that is their personal prerference.

It promises to hold a People’s Vote, and will put forward a “credible” alternative to Theresa May’s Brexit deal.

But it will not commit to campaigning to Remain, with the possibility the leadership could remain neutral or offer frontbenchers the opportunity to choose its own side.

MORE: To win back power Labour must now commit to revoking Article 50

Anti-Brexit campaigners from Another Europe is Possible have said they will not accept backroom “fudge” this year like last year’s negiotiations concluded.

Another Europe is Possible’s Ana Oppenheim told Labour List: “We’ve phonebanked thousands of members all over the country since June. The strength of anti-Brexit feeling at the grassroots of the labour movement is uncontainable, and is growing… There is no way that we, or delegates from CLPs, will accept a slightly-better fudge as happened last year. We will take a Remain position to a vote on conference floor.”

The Liberal Democrats have already committed to the revocation of Article 50, but only in a situation where it has won a general election.