Sir, – Fintan O'Toole claims that the leaders of the British Labour Party "believe that a no-deal Brexit will free Britain from the wishy-washy social market capitalism of the EU and thus ultimately from capitalism itself" ("Sinn Féin joins the Great Disruption", Opinion & Analysis, August 6th).
In reality, Labour’s 2017 manifesto denounced “no deal” as “the worst possible deal for Britain”.
It accepted the 2016 referendum result but pledged to “prioritise jobs and living standards, build a close new relationship with the EU, protect workers’ rights and environmental standards, [and] provide certainty to EU nationals” – all incompatible with a no-deal Brexit. Labour’s alternative platform for the Brexit negotiations, which EU officials such as Donald Tusk and Michael Barnier publicly welcomed, called for “close alignment with the single market” and “dynamic alignment on rights and protections so that UK standards keep pace with evolving standards across Europe as a minimum”.
The Labour leadership whipped its MPs several times to vote against Theresa May’s deal and against no deal; it also whipped them to vote in favour of the softest possible form of Brexit (“Norway Plus”, as it was dubbed), and in favour of a second referendum with Remain on the ballot paper. – Yours, etc,
DANIEL FINN,
London.