Last week the government published the text of a bill allowing it to trigger Article 50. However, Corbyn's insistence that Labour MPs support the bill triggered a revolt by dozens of his own MPs, says the FT. Indeed, several frontbenchers have resigned over the issue, while others have pointed out that on "other contentious votes" Labour MPs received a free vote. Labour "faces a uniquely painful conundrum", says George Eaton in The New Statesman.
While "almost all of its MPs and two-thirds of its voters backed Remain", it "represents some of the most europhile seats in the country and some of the most europhobic". The problem is made worse by Corbyn, who is unable to "build a bridge between the two sides". Unless Labour finds some special formula it "risks losing Remain voters to the Liberal Democrats, the SNP and the Greens, Leave voters to Ukip and both to the Tories".
Corbyn isn't the first Labour leader to have dealt with a party split over Europe, says John Rentoul in The Independent. Indeed, "since the 1950s, Labour and the Conservatives have taken it in turn to be divided over Europe". Unfortunately, "on 24 June last year, the Tories snapped together, united (apart from Ken Clarke) behind Brexit".
Subscribe to MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
What makes this schism particularly "deep and irreconcilable" is that it "has divided all factions in the party: Blairites, Corbynites and the group in the middle whom the Corbynites call Blairites, but whom the Blairites blame for paving the way for Corbyn". However, the reality is that "no leader could avoid the votes on the Bill to trigger Article 50".
"There is a good case for Labour accepting that Britain must leave the EU, since that is what a majority of the country has said it wants," says Rafael Behr in The Guardian. However, if it wants to push "an alternative vision of the nation's post-European destiny, one that is kinder and more reasonable than May's rock-hard Brexit", it will need the help of those Tories "alarmed by the illiberal turn events have taken". They "should examine the paltriness of their compensation for the years of loyalty to Cameron and May" and "summon a more rebellious spirit".
-
Who is the richest person in the world?The top five richest people in the world have a combined net worth of $825 billion. Who takes the crown for the richest person in the world?
-
Top 10 stocks with highest growth over past decade - from Nvidia, Microsoft to Netflix, which companies made you the most money?
We reveal the 10 global companies with the biggest returns since 2013. One firm has posted an astonishing 9,870% return, meaning a £1,000 investment would now be worth almost £82,000.
