Tag: deputy leader

Labour’s deputy leader, Tom Watson, will address the People’s Vote march on Saturday, saying he is prepared to vote for Theresa May’s Brexit deal in parliament as long she agrees to put it to a second referendum. The politician will be the most senior Labour figure to address the rally in Parliament Square in the afternoon, following a mass march through central London at which hundreds of thousands of people – and possibly more – are expected to attend. Source: peoples-vote.uk. © OpenStreetMap contributors “I will help you get it over the line to prevent a disastrous no-deal exit. But I can only vote for your deal – or any deal – if you let the people have a vote on it too. That’s why I’m proud to be marching. I trust the people I represent.” The last People’s Vote march in October attracted an estimated 700,000 protesters, and while its organisers are reluctant to say any more than that “hundreds of thousands” are due to attend on Saturday, the expectation is that significantly more will turn up. The Labour leader will be in Morecambe, Lancashire, campaigning for the local elections due in May. “Alastair Campbell asked me whether I’d be going along and I said to him very honestly that by going there I might alienate some of the people who are strong leavers who I want to bring on board.” Watson’s remarks make him the first shadow cabinet figure to publicly back a compromise proposed by Labour backbenchers Peter Kyle and Phil Wilson, in which supporters would allow May’s deal to pass if it was subject to another popular vote. The former foreign secretary David Miliband is due to travel from New York to attend, while a string of leftwing junior shadow ministers and MPs will address a Left Bloc rally at 11am at Stanhope Gate, near the south end of Park Lane.