London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Jul 22, 2025

Labour Remainers warn Leave MPs: don't help Johnson win his Brexit deal

Labour Remainers warn Leave MPs: don't help Johnson win his Brexit deal

Crucial group hold key to success of PM's plans and could wreck Corbyn party's election chances
Labour’s pro-Remain MPs have issued a stark warning to any colleagues thinking of backing a Boris Johnson deal that they risk destroying the party and ruining its chances at the next general election.

The prime minister’s chances of securing a majority for any new deal with Brussels when parliament meets next Saturday are on a knife-edge, and depend on how many pro-Leave Labour MPs defy the party whip to back the government.

Earlier this month 19 Labour MPs wrote to the European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker saying they “wish to see the British EU referendum result honoured without further delay”. This was despite Jeremy Corbyn saying he believed that no Labour MP could back a Johnson deal.

On Saturday Labour’s Brexit spokesman, Keir Starmer, said the party would push for a second referendum on any deal tabled by Johnson and would do everything in its power to avoid a no-deal outcome. Starmer has made clear he would campaign to Remain in a second referendum.

The 19 MPs are now coming under intense pressure both from party whips and colleagues not to help Johnson get a deal across the line – something many believe would allow him to enter a general election having defused the threat from the Brexit party and in a strong position to form a majority.

Frontbencher Clive Lewis said Labour MPs who backed Johnson would not only be foisting a deal on the country that was bad for jobs and for Britain but would also risk consigning themselves and their party to election defeat.

“I would urge any Labour MP who is considering voting for a Tory deal to think very, very carefully,” Lewis said.

“If Boris Johnson can go into an election as the man who delivered Brexit, we will be in serious trouble. It will be the Tories, not supportive Labour MPs, that reap the electoral rewards of any such deal. They will in effect be signing up to their own political demise.

“To top it, the communities those MPs came into politics to represent will be the ones who suffer the consequences. I know, in their hearts, many of them know this to be true. I’d really urge them to reflect on that and act accordingly.”

Owen Smith, the former leadership challenger, added: “Any Labour colleague who votes for Johnson’s Brexit will be betraying our values and our country. He is proposing the hardest of Brexits for Britain, with no guarantees for workers’ rights or environmental standards while Northern Ireland gets cast into some limbo-land, neither truly in nor out, but with the constitutional question recklessly returned to the heart of Irish politics.

“For this to go through on the back of any Labour votes would be a moment of great shame for our party. The only way a vote for this deal could ever be justified is if it has a confirmatory referendum attached.”

Several of those considering backing a deal presented by the government say they are still keeping their options open and are waiting to see what precisely it is that Johnson returns with from Brussels, if anything. Stephen Kinnock said he would make his decision based on what safeguards there were on issues such as workers’ rights.

“Our number one aim is to protect peace and security on the island of Ireland, and it’s clear that the Irish government and the Northern Irish communities are best placed to judge whether the new deal will achieve that aim,” Kinnock said.

“The other key issue is the future relationship, and on this point it’s vital that the government provides guaranteed safeguards on workers’ rights, environmental and consumer standards, and that parliament will be given binding votes at key milestones throughout the future relationship negotiations [which will be taking place during the transition period].”

Gloria de Piero, who is stepping down at the next election and was one of the 19 who signed the letter to Juncker, said she would take a decision based on the commitments she made in her last election manifesto to honour the 2016 referendum result, stop no deal, and leave with a deal. “I will look at the deal very carefully,” she said.

Anna Turley said she could not understand how any Labour colleagues could be considering backing a Johnson deal which would leave the people Labour exists to represent poorer. “I just really struggle to see how voting for a Boris Johnson deal can be supported by any Labour MP. We know it will damage the economy. We know it will hit the poorest hardest. We know it will increase inequality in this country and put our precious NHS at risk. We know it makes us more insular, and peace in Northern Ireland more vulnerable. None of these things are in keeping with the values of our movement.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
×