One of the ironies of Brexit is that the process of leaving the EU is causing more problems for Labour than it is for the Tories.
Labour is trying to pull off an impossible political feat: listen to the concerns of their Brexit supporting voters in the North, while at the same time please Europhile supporters in London.
The party’s challenge is further complicated by the fact that its leader, Jeremy Corbyn, is a lifelong Eurosceptic who, we are told, reluctantly voted Remain.
Labour’s position on the most important issue since the second world war reflects these tensions and confusions. Corbyn supports a customs union with the rest of the EU, but not single market membership. He is pro-immigration, but has of late adopted a sceptical tone on the free movement of labour.
Such a mess should result in Corbyn taking a tolerant approach to different opinions on Brexit. But when shadow cabinet member Owen Smith backed a second referendum - a eminently sensible suggestions - he was fired.
Smith’s view is not a surprise. He articulated this belief during his doomed leadership challenge against Corbyn and has repeated it since the contest. He is not a threat to the leader.
All parties impose collective responsibility on the top teams, but on a fundamental issue like Brexit, where the facts are changing by the day, Corbyn should find the space for a plurality of views to be aired.
In a week where the Tories sold out the fishing industry and took the Brexit process to a new low, Corbyn has put the focus on himself and taken the heat off Theresa May.
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