Being Red and Green

In my previous blog I suggested that Labour should consider conditionally supporting May’s Withdrawal  Deal, in return for a place in the negotiating team for the ongoing discussion with the EU about a long term trading arrangement and  an emergency spending programme to address climate change and collapsing public services.  Whilst May would be unlikely to agree to such conditions the offer would demonstrate Labour’s constructive attitude and would help it to change the terms of the debate. In any event Labour should be making plans regarding how best to use the Transition Period, set to last 20 months with the possibility of an extension. I would suggest the following:  That Labour reaffirms its commitment to undertaking a Green Transformation when elected to government and begins preparation for its implementation. Such preparation, which would involve the allocation of substantial financial resources, would involve drawing up a constituency by constitu...

Maybe Labour should think the unthinkable and conditionally agree to support the proposed withdrawal agreement,  if only to avoid a General Election completely focused on Brexit, which wouldn’t necessarily go well for us ? What conditions ? -a place/ places in the negotiating team for the ongoing discussions about the future relationship with the EU - an emergency spending programme for the period of negotiations, to prop up public services and to crank up the transition to a no carbon economy ( as outlined in the Green Transition document   https://www.labour.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/The-Green-Transformation-.pdf   )     In the likely event that such an offer is rejected then Labour would participate in voting the deal down, on the basis that it has no confidence in the Tories negotiating a satisfactory long term settlement on their own. Labour would be likely to defeat the government  in an uncomfortable alliance with Tory Br...