Labour Forced Into Embarrassing U-Turn On Tory Immigration Bill After Backlash From MPs

Several MPs vowed to break their whip to vote against the proposals, with Chris Leslie and Angela Smith intervening on Abbott to underline their complaints.

Following a hammering on Twitter and ridicule from Labour, SNP and even some Tory MPs, the party then announced a sudden change in its whipping plans.

A text from Labour whips sent to MPs just after 7pm – just three hours before the vote was due at 10pm – read:

“IMPORTANT: Those colleagues who remain on the [Parliamentary] estate may wish to be aware that we will be voting AGAINST the Second Reading of Immigration Bill”.

This contradicted a text – also passed to HuffPost UK – sent hours earlier, which read:

“At second reading we will abstain on the vote, as we accept that a new immigration system is required post-Brexit, but do not support giving the government such wide powers to introduce a new system.

“We will seek substantial amendments in committee stage to restrict the powers granted to the government by itself and require that the immigration system eventually introduced is based on evidence.”

One Labour MP pointed out that this was exactly the reasoning given during Harriet Harman’s decision to abstain on the second reading of the Welfare Bill in 2015. At the time, Jeremy Corbyn was the only leadership candidate to vote against rather than abstain.

The issue flared up during Monday night’s meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP), when backbencher Anna McMorrin read out a letter from a party member who was resigning in protest at the decision not to oppose the bill.

One Labour MP said “it’s the biggest fuck-up”, while another said “what kind of half-arsed whip is that?”

“It’s caused ludicrous confusion,” added one usually-loyal backbencher.

A former whip also told HuffPost UK that Abbott’s shadow department was to blame, while others said that ultimately they suspected Corbyn didn’t want to upset MPs in Labour Leave areas who were already nervous about the party’s supporting a delay in Brexit.