JEREMY CORBYN has this week announced Labour will back Remain in the event of no deal, or a Brexit that threatens workers’ rights, while John McDonnell recently claimed Labour should pivot to a Remain position, given the party’s current performance in polls.

Corbyn is correct to ensure a hard Brexit doesn’t break the backs of the poorest, but when the time comes to decide whether to fully back Remain in any circumstances, it would be wise to avoid going all in.

The party’s election policy on Brexit has yet to be announced, but should a general election be called, Labour will have to announce to the electorate whether it will take the country out of the EU or not, if Britain has not yet broken with the EU.

When that time arrives, it should be noted that nearly two thirds (64 per cent) of people from the three lowest economic groups, C2DEs, voted to leave. Contrast this with the two highest earning economic groups, AB, the only groups with a majority voting to remain (57 per cent).

These figures are illustrative of the problem Brexit has exposed — there is a significant divide between the working and middle classes over the issue.

Labour’s primary reason for existence is to advocate for the working class and an estimated 4-5 million people who voted Labour at the general election in 2017 also voted to leave the EU in 2016, with many of these voters falling in the lowest socio-economic bracket.

Should Labour go all in for Remain, the party risks alienating its Leave-voting supporters, leaving them feeling as if the party is betraying both democracy and their wishes.

There is a robust socialist case for leaving the capitalist EU. If Corbyn’s Labour comes to power, a clash will be inevitable, the EU will make socialist economic reform nigh on impossible.

Several unions have voiced their backing for Brexit including the RMT, Aslef and BFAWU, and with good reason. The Council of Ministers, responsible for EU laws, is heavily influenced by capitalist parties, with every interest in advantaging big business and exploiting the worker. It’s also not true that the EU is responsible for workers’ rights.  Most laws protecting employment and equality in Britain were made in the UK, won by the trade unions and labour movement.

Many Leave voters feel they have been stigmatised for wanting a break with the EU and its control over our courts, quotas and more.

While it’s true the far right attempts to use Brexit dissatisfaction as a recruitment tool, many who voted Leave did not do so with xenophobic intent and understandably resent the implication.  

According to a survey of 12,369 people conducted on referendum day by Lord Ashcroft Polls, the primary reason most Leavers gave for wanting to break was because of “the principle that decisions about the UK should be taken in the UK.”

The likely next Tory PM, Boris Johnson, positions himself as the only option for Leavers, boasting he will “ deliver Brexit and defeat Corbyn.” 

Johnson is likely to fail in his efforts to take Britain into a hard Brexit, but if he does manage to circumvent Parliament’s wishes, it will be at the expense of the poor. Labour, however, could negotiate a Brexit deal that musters cross-party support and avoids adverse harm to public services and the vulnerable.

This would place the party in the ideal political position to honour the referendum result and offer an alternative to Boris’s bluster.

Corbyn should capitalise on the concern over Brexit by presenting as the grown-up in the room. A natural born negotiator, he can be the politician Britain is crying out for, someone who respects the referendum result but with a more workable idea of how to implement it than flailing PM Theresa May or boastful Johnson.

Though the Conservatives suffered in the EU elections, if Johnson leads them, an early general election could be called to shore up support for his hard Brexit fantasies. With Johnson looking likely to get the Tory top job, Labour should avoid putting all its eggs in the Remain basket, or it will be deserted at the ballot box by a significant portion of Leave-voting Labour supporters.

Should Labour position itself as the sensible mediator of Brexit though, it would pick up support from those concerned about a high Tory, business-first approach to Brexit. Swing voters worried about the impact of a Johnson Brexit would consider a Corbyn alternative, as would Leavers who are not traditional Tory types but may not have previously voted Labour.

Most Labour Remainers would still back Corbyn, especially with Johnson in the frame. Though it’s a contentious issue, the next general election will surely be about more than just Brexit. Will Remainers who claim to want a fresh new socialist politics risk a Johnson government by deserting Labour’s admirable social and economic policies for the capitalist, neoliberal Lib Dems?   

The Conservatives teeter on a knife edge but with their “break glass for Boris” emergency policy underway, they’re looking to mount a comeback — at Labour’s expense. To avoid playing into their hands, Labour should not turn its back on a significant portion of its voter base, working-class voters who predominantly opted to leave.  

There are Remainers on the Labour right seeking to undermine Corbyn — but he should discount too much rose-tinted Remain enthusiasm, as he can do much better for Britain, and the working class.