"Many Photos" - Corbyn makes pitch for Tory rebels to help force Norway-style Brexit deal

Labour's strained unity over Brexit shattered today after Jeremy Corbyn told Therssa May his price for supporting her deal a Norway-style relationship.

The Labour leader wrote to the Prime Minister setting out changes she could seek to the political deal on the future UK-EU relationship to get his support.

Crucially the changes Mr Corbyn wants are not to the legally binding Withdrawal Agreement  - meaning a version of them might be achievable in Brussels.

Remain supporting MPs reacted with horror to the plan, which is designed to appeal to some Tory MPs and show voters Labour is willing to compromise to get a deal.  

Former leadership contender Owen Smith even suggested he could quit Labour altogether if the party helps deliver Brexit. 

Fresh splits also emerged in Mr Corbyn's frontbench team as shadow Brexit minister Matthew Pennycook said the party 'must move to support a public vote' unless Mrs May accepts the conditions 'in full'. 

Mr Corbyn's new terms - which crucially drop his previous call for her to secure the 'exact same benefits' as current membership - suggest a full customs union with the EU and close alignment to the EU single market. 

Labour's strained unity over Brexit shattered today after Jeremy Corbyn (pictured today in Worcester) told Therssa May his price for supporting her deal a Norway-style relationship 

Tory former minister Nick Boles welcomed the overture as a 'big step to a cross-party compromise' based on an enhanced Norway model

Fresh splits emerged in Mr Corbyn's frontbench team as shadow Brexit minister Matthew Pennycook said the party 'must move to support a public vote' unless Mrs May accepts the conditions 'in full'

Mr Corbyn posed for pictures in his Westminster office last night as he tried to show he is willing to compromise

The grand gesture (pictured) is intended to show voters Mr Corbyn is ready to compromise, while heaping pressure on Mrs May to break her key red lines.

Labour's OLD six tests for Brexit  

Throughout the Brexit talks, Labour said it would apply six tests to the deal when deciding whether to vote for it - most importantly whether it offered the 'exact same benefits' as the single market and customs union.

The phrase was based on a quote from former Brexit Secretary David Davis. 

The tests were: 

1. Does it ensure a strong and collaborative future relationship with the EU? 


2. Does it deliver the 'exact same benefits' as we currently have as members of the Single Market and Customs Union?


3. Does it ensure the fair management of migration in the interests of the economy and communities?


4. Does it defend rights and protections and prevent a race to the bottom?


5. Does it protect national security and our capacity to tackle cross-border crime?


6. Does it deliver for all regions and nations of the UK

Labour's NEW demands for the Brexit deal  

In the new letter, Labour sets out five new demands on the future UK-EU relationship as its price for voting for the Withdrawal Agreement as drafted.

Crucially the 'exact same benefits' test is gone, demanding instead a permanent customs union and close alignment with the single market. 

Both are against Theresa May's plan 

The new demands from the Labour Party are:  

1. A 'permanent and comprehensive UK-wide customs union', including a say in future trade deals.


2. Close alignment with the single market, underpinned by 'shared institutions'.


3. 'Dynamic alignment on rights and protections', so that UK standards do not fall behind those of the EU.


4. Clear commitments on future UK participation in EU agencies and funding programmes.


5. Unambiguous agreements on future security arrangements, such as use of the European arrest warrant.

In his letter, Mr Corbyn stated: 'This would include alignment with the union customs code, a common external tariff and an agreement on commercial policy that includes a UK say on future EU trade deals.'

Labour also wants close alignment with the single market 'underpinned by shared institutions and obligations, with clear arrangements for dispute resolution'.

Mr Corbyn urged for 'dynamic alignment on rights and protections' so UK standards do not fall behind those of the EU, commitments on participation in EU agencies and funding programmes, and 'unambiguous agreements on the detail of future security arrangements, including access to the European Arrest Warrant and vital shared databases'.

What is the Norway-plus plan Labour is moving towards? 

The new Labour position looks like the 'Norway-plus' plan that has long been pushed by Tory backbencher Nick Boles.

It would effectively keep the UK in the single market, with a customs bolt-on to avoid a hard Irish border, and backers say it would keep Britain close to the EU while cutting contributions to Brussels.

However, critics say it has the drawbacks of keeping free movement - and tightly limiting the possibilities for doing trade deals elsewhere.

Former Tory Cabinet minister Oliver Letwin has said he believes there is a majority of MPs in favour of the arrangements.

His view is based on support inside the Tory party and substantial number of Labour MPs.

But it was almost impossible for the plan to come to fruition without support from the Labour front bench - something Mr Corbyn's letter could change.

If Labour was whipped to back a Norway-plus plan, it would probably pass the Commons.

It reopens the door to MPs seizing control of the Commons agenda to pass its own version of Brexit in defiance of decades of precedent.

A similar plan failed last week but MPs are due to vote again on Brexit on Valentine's Day.   

Even if MPs did vote for it, the EU is also thought to have concerns about a country the UK's size joining the EEA, while other states in the group might be resistant.

Mrs May is unlikely to be able to put the policy in place as it breaks her often-stated red lines.

He also calls for further talks with the PM 'with the aim of securing a sensible agreement that can win the support of Parliament and bring the country together'.

The letter does not mention previous Labour demands that any deal must deliver the 'exact same benefits' as membership of the single market and customs union currently does.

The Labour leadership has been distancing itself from calls for a second referendum, despite pressure from rank-and-file MPs.

Asked he would stay in Labour, Mr Smith told Radio 5 Live's Emma Barnett: 'I think that's a very good question - and I think it's something I and lots of people people are considering right now.' 

An amendment tabled in Brexit votes last month said a referendum should only be considered after a deal was approved by the Commons. 

But Mr Pennycook suggested today that Labour should support a so-called 'People's Vote' if its demands are not met.

'We've now set out in detail the changes needed to secure @UKLabour support for a deal,' he tweeted. 

'Either May accepts them in full and commits to enshrining them in law before exit day or we must move to support a public vote. No other credible options left to prevent a 'no deal'.' 

Former shadow chancellor Chris Leslie attacked Mr Corbyn's move.

Mr Leslie tweeted: 'Seriously? Offering to help Tory Govt enable #Brexit? It's not just Labour's conference policy in the bin.

'When the jobs go & revenues for services dry up as a result - Labour's leadership will have ZERO right to complain: they share responsibility.'

Labour MP Phil Wilson, a supporter of the People's Vote campaign for a second referendum, said: 'It was perhaps inevitable that at some point my party would publish something like this even though most Labour MPs, members and voters have long since worked out that there is no form of Brexit that can meet the promises made in 2016 or do anything but make people poorer.

'Our party conference agreed last year that if it couldn't get a general election it should explore other options including a new public vote.

Theresa May was in Brussels for crunch talks with Jean-Claude Juncker (right) and others to try to wring more concessions on the Irish border backstop

The PM and the EU commission chief - usually known for his exuberant touchy-feely style - stood grim-faced next to each other before disappearing for private talks 

'In the end there is only one way out of this mess for both our country and the Labour Party, a people's vote.'

Shadow international trade secretary Barry Gardiner defended the shift in policy away from the six tests Labour originally set for a Brexit deal, saying the offer was made 'in a spirit of co-operation and compromise'.

'It's not about tests now,' he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. 'What we are doing is saying we believe that these are the options that are available that would actually secure a majority in the House of Commons.'

The Labour leader tells the PM that last month's rejection by MPs of her Withdrawal Agreement means a different approach is needed.

He writes: 'Without changes to your negotiating red lines, we do not believe that simply seeking modifications to the existing backstop terms is a credible or sufficient response either to the scale of your defeat last month in Parliament, or the need for a deal with the EU that can bring the country together and protect jobs.'

 

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News Photo Corbyn makes pitch for Tory rebels to help force Norway-style Brexit deal
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