More fence sitting from the Labour Party !

I knew Labour would do this with its dithering leader.

Hmm, I've not been short on criticism of and frustration with the Labour party over their opposition. They were absolutely useless in opposing Brexit in 2016, despite it being their official policy, and have come up with nothing useful since!

However, I can see the reasoning in this decision. As you say, they will alienate half their voters whichever way they jump. Saying that they will negotiate a deal and then give us a referendum on accepting the deal or remaining seems attractive.

I have absolutely no confidence in them being able to negotiate a deal though, so we would have a referendum, (presuming they could get a deal through parliament), choose to remain and then be stuck with Corbyn running the country and all the horrors that might bring on!

Parliament voted down a second referendum.

Mind you, they’ve voted down just about everything put before them these last 3 years or more!

Labour has more faces than the town hall clock.

Although I am not a Labour supporter I don’t think they are any worse than the Conservatives. There are Remainers and Brexiteers in both parties, after all at least 25 MPs have left the Conservatives over Brexit.

Imagine Corbyn trying to negotiate with EU. He would put them in a spin by never arguing for staying in or leaving. They may throw us out just because Jeremy got on their nerves.

Personally I prefer the view of Deputy Leader Tom Watson, to have a referendum first then an election, so that the election would hopefully be less Brexit-focussed.

I agree Humpty q

Corbyn actually commands more respect in the EU than at home. I can't see what there is to complain about in the policy. They want to negotiate a deal. They then want to present that deal to the public with Remain still on the ballot paper. What's wrong with that? I would prefer them to insist that if there is to be any change there must be a substantial majority but that wouldn't make Leavers happy. As it is if it is enacted it would mean that Leavers would at least know exactly what they were voting for.

The problem with a Referendum first is what do you put on the ballot paper? No deal which is a real possibility, Boris's deal which is imaginary and Remain? Now I wouldn't mind having the 3 options but as it would split the leave vote I would imagine Leavers will object. But whilst No Deal remains on the table it would have to be in any referendum.

Well it seems a deal just might get done with Boris yet.

The German Chancellor gave the upbeat assessment amid signs of a renewed push in negotiations, with just 50 days until the UK is due to leave.

Asked in the Bundestag for her view on the prospects for Brexit, Mrs Merkel said: 'There is every chance to get it sorted out.'

No need then for Corbyn (thank goodness).

Off topic sorry, but I think this talk of a substantial majority doesn’t fit with the labour party’s rule that a labour MP can be deselected by one third of their local party

Mmm with the civil servants working on this cut down to 4 and the EU being represented by Irish Phil Hogan who hates Brexit and Boris I wouldn't rely on that.
Even if they get a deal only 10 working days for Parliament to agree.

trisher although No Deal is still on the table, since parliament has voted against it, hopefully it would be off the table by the time a referendum could be held.

I really don’t think that the LP has done itself any favours coming out with what they would have in their manifesto
( but that’s ok with me) regarding their Brexit plans.

In any case, I think that Johnson will get a WA agreement with the EU through Parliament before the end of October.

Phil Hogan may hate Brexit ( am sure the Irish Government do!) and may well hate Johnson as well ( or even the whole of the UK) but the ROI will be in dire straits if we did leave without a deal so the politics of the thing is that Hogan and the EU and the UK will no doubt agree a deal between them in October that Parliament will vote for.

Unless of course we get the extension which BJ is legally required to ask for.

An extension is not the answer to anything.....merely kicks the can down the road ( yet again)
And if that did happen, and there was a GE ( which there will be) the LP have then, in their new manifesto, gone back on their word to voters in the last manifesto that they would honour their vote to leave.
People aren’t stupid and they will vote a different way.
Labour voters who are Remainers won’t be all that easy in voting Labour either, as Corbyn says he will seek a deal first before any referendum.

True that people are not stupid so hopefully they won't vote BJ back into Downing Street. In any case by then it will hopefully be academic since it will be after October 31st.

But voters have memories! Will they forgive the LP for even thinking of another referendum ( after saying time and again that they would not do so).
Everything is academic at the moment, as things seem to be changing around so fast, the phrase ‘ a week in politics is a long time’ has rarely been so apt.

I do agree with your last comment lemon, in fact I'm bieginning to think we've got to a point where ‘a day in politics is a long time’

True lemon "the ROI will be in dire straits if we did leave without a deal" but nowhere near such dire staits as the UK would suffer.

Oh I think it would be worse for them actually, but in any case it’s very likely that there will be a withdrawal deal.

We just have to hope there will be a revocation of article 50 so none of us suffer the consequences of this brexit nonsense.

Varian ....if I had a pound for every time you have said the words ‘this Brexit nonsense’ over the last three years, then I would have enough for the luxury holiday of a lifetime.