Jeremy Corbyn’s threat to block Brexit has made him look competent and statesmanlike – but comes at a cost

Pro-Remainers are a big group who have been left leaderless, and Corbyn has seized the opportunity to lead them. But he risks unleashing another Labour infighting disaster

Jeremy Corbyn made a bold pronouncement earlier this week (Getty)

After months of ineffective and unconvincing leadership about Brexit, Jeremy Corbyn has finally announced that Labour may block EU withdrawal after all. It’s a welcome move following his lukewarm referendum campaigning and apparent focus on internal Labour revolts above national politics in recent times.

Initially, while the High Court ruling against Theresa May’s Brexit plans sent shockwaves through the political and judicial establishment this week, Corbyn’s response to the momentous High Court case last week could best be described as tepid. In characteristic Corbyn style, it took close to an hour for the Labour leader’s office to issue a response while his social media accounts continued to incongruously tweet about Snapchat, before his press officers spelt his name wrong in the statement which was eventually released.

So it was a pleasant surprise to see Corbyn finally take a strong and authoritative stance a few days later. In perhaps one of his most statesmanlike moments yet, he announced Labour MPs may vote against triggering Article 50 when it goes to a parliamentary vote unless what he has dubbed “Brexit bottom lines” are not included in the final deal for EU withdrawal. Among these red line issues are access to the single market, no reduction of EU workers’ rights, safeguards for consumers and the environment, as well as a pledge to cover the costs of EU capital investment lost by Brexit.

If Corbyn’s tactic is to look authoritative, leader-like and competent, it worked. The Remain camp of 48 per cent of voters is obviously sizeable and so far has been left leaderless as the defeated campaign has disbanded and Labour has distanced itself from engaging too overtly with anti-Brexit sentiment while licking its wounds from the referendum failure.

The announcement is a strategic and astute one – for the short term. It may bring Corbyn short-term success by boosting his popularity with the pro-Remain supporters (many of whom have not yet forgiven him for seemingly dragging his feet during the referendum).

Coming out with a strong anti-Brexit stance is now the easiest and clearest way for Corbyn to look like an authoritative opposition leader, score points on the Conservatives and attempt to make up for that failure in campaigning. It also enables Labour to tap into pro-Remain sentiment which is there for the taking.

However, as with many Corbyn strategies, it is a naive one through which he risks sleepwalking into another Labour party revolt.

In reality, very few MPs would vote against Brexit if Corbyn told them to. Stopping Brexit would be a toxic stance for any party as MPs who vote against it will be criticised as going against the will of the people and belittling working class voters’ views. This is a particularly big risk for Labour as they are mostly commonly criticised for being out of touch and dismissive of the working class communities who they claim to represent.

Ukip also poses a bigger electoral threat to Labour than Lib Dems, Greens or even the Conservatives these days, considering how much the Tories are pandering to Ukip voters of late over issues such as grammar schools. Most Labour MPs would refuse to vote against it because they would face such backlash in their own constituencies.

Ultimately, if the Labour leader were to call on his party MPs to vote against Article 50, few could comply with the order. This would most likely mean that when Article 50 does finally go to a parliamentary vote, then rather than focusing on the issue, how the Government is handling it and how successful Theresa May’s negotiations have been, the media and the country’s attention will be on yet another Labour revolt against Corbyn.

The Government’s poor handling of Brexit and humiliating High Court defeat are a gift to Labour, which they should turn to their advantage but here they risk sabotaging their greatest political opportunity thus far in this parliament.

Corbyn’s announcement about blocking Article 50 may win him immediate respect from pro-Remain supporters and enable him to regain relevance and authority in national politics, but ultimately it can amount to little more than posturing and could never be fulfilled as his own MPs would refuse to do his bidding. It therefore does little more than make short-term gains for long-term damage as he sets up another sideshow of party in-fighting to detract from the Conservatives’ abysmal performance on Brexit.