Clive Lewis hints he could resign from Labour’s Shadow Cabinet over party’s Article 50 stance
'I’ve been having a long, hard think, like lots of MPs, and I’ll make a decision later today. And you’ll all get to hear about it'
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Your support makes all the difference.Clive Lewis, an ally of Jeremy Corbyn, has provided a strong hint he could resign from Labour’s Shadow Cabinet later today over the party’s stance on the Government’s Brexit bill.
It follows the Labour leader’s decision to impose a second three-line whip – the strongest possible instruction – on the third reading of the Government’s EU withdrawal bill on Wednesday. It is the legislation needed in order to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty and begin the Brexit negotiations.
Asked by Sky News whether he will resign as he left his home on Wednesday morning, Mr Lewis replied: “I don’t know. I’m going to make my mind up. [There’s a] lot on my plate, a lot on everyone’s plate, a lot to think about, and we’ll see what happens in the lobbies today”
When pressed if he backed the Labour leader, Mr Lewis added it was his intention “to do what’s right by my constituents and by conscience and whatever tat takes”.
“And also I have to think about the ... Labour party. It’s a really tough call. And I think lots of MPs are really having a tough time at the moment on this one,” he added.
“I’ve been having a long, hard think, like lots of MPs, and I’ll make a decision later today. And you’ll all get to hear about it.”
Mr Lewis, who is touted in some left-wing circles as a future leader of the party, told his constituents at a meeting on Friday that he was prepared to quit his position on the frontbench if Labour’s amendments in the Commons fall flat. So far, all amendments to the Government’s bill have been voted down and many now expect it to pass to the Lords without modification.
“If at the end of that process the bill before us is overwhelmingly a Tory hard cliff-edge – a Trumpian Brexit – I am prepared to break the whip and I am prepared to walk from the shadow Cabinet,” Mr Lewis said to his constituents.
Labour MPs said on Wednesday the party's chief whip Nick Brown had indicated there would be “consistency” in dealing with the passage of the European Union bill, which is now in its third day of debates. It is expected that dozens of MPs could defy the leader’s three-line whip later on Wednesday.
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