ACROSS the UK – and particularly in Scotland – Labour are facing accusations that they have become irrelevant.
Jeremy Corbyn, employing wait-and-see tactics, has waited for Theresa May’s government to be replaced by an even more incompetent group of Tory ministers, only to see his personal approval rating tumble below Boris Johnson’s.
In Scotland, too, Labour have been relegated to a political footnote. Such is the lack of enthusiasm that the party was last month said to be struggling to find candidates for 33 of 59 Westminster constituencies.
READ MORE: Scottish Labour struggling to find candidates for General Election
Embracing this overwhelming sense of irrelevance is Glasgow-born Labour MP Jim Fitzpatrick.
The Poplar and Limehouse representative is so convinced that no-one is paying attention to his party that he freely admitted on live television that he hadn’t bothered to read over the Tory government’s Withdrawal Agreement Bill.
Despite that minor oversight, Fitzpatrick casually informed Victoria Derbyshire on her BBC show that he intended to vote for the legislation anyway.
If passed, the Bill could pave the way for the UK to leave the EU on October 31 on the terms set out by Johnson – something you’d imagine might rankle one or two Labour voters.
READ MORE: Scottish Government urges MSPs to withhold consent for Brexit bill
Granted, MPs are deeply unhappy that there is so little time for detailed scrutiny of a such an important Bill, which runs to 110 pages with another 124 pages of explanatory notes.
But as Fitzpatrick’s co-panelist David Linden shows, that is not a sufficient excuse for MPs to simply wave through the legislation without even taking a glance at it.
😯 Extraordinary viewing - watch to the end!
— David Linden MP (@DavidLinden) October 22, 2019
Boris Johnson is trying to force the most significant piece of legislation of our lifetimes through in just a couple of days. If successful, it will be down to Labour MPs like this who back him blindly without reading the small print. pic.twitter.com/0giONrqRwX
Watch Fitzpatrick’s answer in full here:
@UKLabour MP @FitzMP on the WAB:
— Brexitshambles (@brexit_sham) October 22, 2019
"Have you read it?"
"No."
"Have you tried?"
"No."
"You haven't tried to read any of it?"
"Not yet."
"Or the explanatory notes?"
"No."
"The impact assessment?"
"No."
"Will you vote for it?"
"In principle, yes." pic.twitter.com/KXGBHmsZh9
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel