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Young Labour distances itself from chair's Brexit rebellion

National committee affirms support for Labour stance on leaving the EU after chair signs petition on anti-Corbyn website

LABOUR’S youth organisation Young Labour condemned attempts by its chair today to undermine the party’s policy on Brexit.

Young Labour national chair Miriam Mirwitch, an Owen Smith supporter, had co-signed a statement with Labour Students chair Melantha Chittenden demanding that party members be given a say in Labour’s Brexit policy.

Both are party rightwingers and contributors to the Blairite magazine Progress.

The letter, which said that “we deserve to have our voices heard by our own party,” included a link to LabourSay.EU, a website that is a data-collecting operation for Progress and fellow anti-Corbyn candidates in the party’s impending national executive committee elections.

Labour insiders have blasted the letter, which they say has violated democratic processes and has used Young Labour’s 110,000 overwhelmingly Corbyn-supporting members as a tool to undermine the party in the media.

Young Labour’s national committee said in a statement released yesterday that, “as national committee members elected on a mandate of sincere dedication to the socialist transformation of society, and of defending the political leadership of Jeremy Corbyn, we wholeheartedly affirm our support of Labour’s Brexit policy.”

The committee, which is overwhelmingly composed of Momentum members and trade union delegates, wished to “collectively reassure” members and the public that “Miriam Mirwitch’s actions do not represent Young Labour’s national committee.”

They argued that any change in Brexit policy would “damage the credibility” of the party and emphasised their support for Labour’s current stance, which is to leave the single market and join some form of customs union.

“Alongside the broader Labour and trade union movement, we fight for a Labour government that can deliver a departure from the European Union which guarantees the greatest benefit for the working-class movement and provides the most advantageous way to implement a full socialist programme,” the statement said.

“Without any consultation, our national chair signed a petition on a website which openly promotes itself as a funding operation for anti-Corbyn NEC candidates promoted by Labour First and Progress.

“We believe it is important that the chair does not mislead the public on Young Labour’s position towards Labour’s Brexit policy.”

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