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9.26am GMT
There has been some confusion over the Labour party’s stance on whether it will vote in favour of triggering article 50, the process that starts the EU withdrawal process. Sir Keir Starmer, the shadow Brexit secretary, has been giving interviews this morning to try to clear up the party’s position, although he has not managed to eliminate all amiguity.
The problem started when Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader, gave an interview to the Sunday Mirror setting out Labour’s four demands for Brexit. The article was headlined “Jeremy Corbyn gives Theresa May ultimatum: Agree to Labour’s Brexit terms or I’ll force election in spring”, although Corbyn’s own quotes did not put it as starkly as that.
Of course we must have discussions about [the terms of Brexit]. We can’t have a vote in a vacuum. And we can’t proceed with this approach where the prime minister says I hold all the cards for the future of the UK in Europe, and its relationship with Europe, and indeed the world, and I’m not going to disclose even the basic terms to parliament. So of course we need that discussion.
We want to have the plan before parliament. That needs to be subject to scrutiny … This is the future of all of us, and the future of our children. We should be proceeding on the basis of a consensus across parliament, not forced divisions.
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Sig Nordal 