THE LABOUR SIX

As if Corbyn hadn't suffered enough already, there were raised eyebrows on Friday when it emerged that six Labour MPs had voted in favour of Boris Johnson's Withdrawal Agreement.  This came despite an insidious purge of pro-Leave MPs and candidates over the course of the last year.  All but one MP who backed Leave in 2016 now remains in the Parliamentary Labour Party (Graham Stringer).  The others were purged by way of various means - either suspended (Kelvin Hopkins), deselected (Roger Godsiff) or driven out (Frank Field, Kate Hoey).  Those who backed Remain initially, but had since backed Leave faced similar pressures.  Caroline Flint survived the purge, but she did not survive the election.

So, who were the rebels that defied the Labour whips on Friday?

Sarah Champion (Rotherham - 68% Leave)
Rosie Cooper (West Lancashire - 55% Leave)
Jon Cruddas (Dagenham & Rainham - 70% Leave)
Emma Lewell-Buck (South Shields - 62% Leave)
Grahame Morris (Easington - 66% Leave)
Toby Perkins (Chesterfield - 59% Leave)

Labour's lone 2016 Brexiteer did not vote on the bill, but he has not backed the Withdrawal Agreement previously either.  Graham Stringer was one of 32 Labour MPs who did not register a vote, although this could be due to absence rather than abstention.  Ten Conservatives also failed to vote, but again it's unclear whether they were present - did some MPs slope off early for Christmas?

THE LABOUR 19

Nineteen Labour MPs have written to the EU imploring that they come to an agreement with our government as "the British people have become exasperated with Parliamentary deadlock".  Well, they're not wrong there!  The letter, addressed to Jean-Claude Juncker (and a copy also sent to Donald Tusk), can be seen below.  Click to enlarge.

The letter has been denounced by Labour Remainers who are furious that Labour MPs - elected on a manifesto that stated that "Labour accepts the referendum result" - should have the barefaced cheek and audacity to uphold said result and party manifesto!  "What planet are you all on" blasts 

@annikahjelmskog.  "Gobsmacked and very scared this is coming from Labour MPs elected on a Corbyn manifesto" moans @linda_whyman, apparently oblivious to the actual manifesto they were elected on.  "You don't speak for me or most Labour supporters" says @fliss59, obviously forgetting that an overwhelming number of Labour constituencies voted Leave.

The nineteen MPs who signed the above letter are as follows, including constituency and Leave/Remain vote.

Kevin Barron (Rother Valley) 67% Leave

Sarah Champion (Rotherham) 68% Leave

Rosie Cooper (West Lancashire) 55% Leave

Jon Cruddas (Dagenham & Rainham) 70% Leave

Gloria De Piero (Ashfield) 70% Leave

Jim Fitzpatrick (Poplar & Limehouse) 66% Remain

Caroline Flint (Don Valley) 68% Leave

Yvonne Fovargue (Makerfield) 65% Leave

Dan Jarvis (Barnsley Central) 68% Leave

Stephen Kinnock (Aberavon) 60% Leave

Emma Lewell-Buck (South Shields) 62% Leave

Justin Madders (Ellesmere Port & Neston) 58% Leave

Grahame Morris (Easington) 66% Leave

Melanie Onn (Great Grimsby) 71% Leave

Stephanie Peacock (Barnsley East) 71% Leave

Lucy Powell (Manchester Central) 64% Remain

Ruth Smeeth (Stoke-on-Trent North) 72% Leave

Laura Smith (Crewe & Nantwich) 60% Leave

Gareth Snell (Stoke-on Trent Central) 65% Leave

NO HONOURABLE THING RUTH

When we announced on Facebook that only two Labour MPs had consistently respected the Leave vote throughout last week's round of treacherous amendments, someone piped up that we were wrong because there was a Stoke-on-Trent MP that had done the same.  They had obviously watched the news and heard that Ruth Smeeth (Stoke-on-Trent North) had resigned from Corbyn's front bench in order to defy party whips and vote against a second referendum.

However, this was the only vote Smeeth had cast in favour of Brexit all week.  She voted to reject no deal - indefinitely - and also voted to extend Article 50.  Smeeth is no Brexiteer, but if our Facebook follower is anything to go by, she managed to fool some into thinking she had done an honourable thing.  What she did was a cynical act of self-preservation.

Stoke-on-Trent returned some of the highest Leave votes in the entire country, but none more so than Smeeth's constituency.  Only six places in the UK produced a higher Leave vote than Stoke-on-Trent North, a fact not lost on its Remain MP.  Another key factor in her deception is her faltering majority, cut in half between 2015 and 2017, despite the national swing to Labour.  In fact Labour's majority in this seat has been slashed significantly in every single general election since 1997.  Back then it was a safe Labour seat with a huge 17,392 majority.  The Conservatives were a distant second, but at the last election they were just 2,359 votes behind.

Clearly Ruth Smeeth is a pro-Brexit Tory candidate away from defeat at the next election.  All of a sudden her headline grabbing resignation makes perfect sense.  It was nothing to do with 'honouring the vote'.

All five of those who resigned from Corbyn's front bench in order to oppose a second referendum also voted to extend Article 50 and block no deal.  It doesn't take a genius to work out why these Remain MPs appeared to have a sudden 'attack of conscience' when voting on the loser's amendment...

Yvonne Fovargue - Makerfield - 65% Leave

Emma Lewell-Buck - South Shields - 62% Leave

Justin Madders - Ellesmere Port & Neston - 58% Leave

Stephanie Peacock - Barnsley East - 71% Leave

Ruth Smeeth - Stoke-on-Trent North - 72% Leave

FIVE QUIT LABOUR'S FRONT BENCH

Corbyn has tonight lost five members of his front bench over the second referendum amendment.  Ironically the amendment was proposed by Sarah Wollaston of the Independent Group, so one way or another Chuka is still giving his former party a few digs.

The five resignations were all triggered by Labour's cowardly policy of abstention, itself a u-turn on a u-turn.  Having recently come out in support of a second referendum, when it came to it they bottled it.  Or did they?  There are reports tonight that Corbyn and Starmer have held discussions with two backbenchers - Peter Kyle and Phil Wilson - about a deal they have proposed in which Labour would back May's deal in exchange for a second referendum.

The resigning frontbenchers who rebelled against the abstention decision are as follows.

Yvonne Fovargue (Makerfield - 65% Leave)
Emma Lewell-Buck (South Shields - 62% Leave)
Justin Madders (Ellesemere Port & Neston - 58% Leave)
Stephanie Peacock (Barnsley East - 71% Leave)
Ruth Smeeth (Stoke-on-Trent North - 72% Leave)

All five voted to oppose a second referendum.  However, they are not Brexiteers and they have consistently voted to frustrate Brexit in all the other votes this week.  Looking at the Leave votes in their constituencies there are no prizes for guessing why they decided a second referendum was a step too far...

I've resigned from Labour's front bench this evening in order to vote against a second referendum. This was a difficult decision but I have a duty to support the will of my constituents. We need to leave, and leave with a deal that works for the Potteries https://t.co/yOtP1jWsmS

— Ruth Smeeth MP (@RuthSmeeth) March 14, 2019

It is with deep regret I tonight resigned from Labour’s front bench, because I believe we should respect the result of the 2016 vote to leave the European Union: pic.twitter.com/oPGwMp974U

— Stephanie Peacock (@Steph_Peacock) March 14, 2019