The Londoner: Labour members shred their cards

Labour members are cutting up and shredding their membership cards in protest at the party’s failure to offer another referendum in its European Election manifesto. Yesterday saw a long drawn-out Labour National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting decide that the manifesto would offer a second referendum “fully in line” with Labour’s policy, which is to offer a referendum only after trying to secure the party’s own “alternative plan for Brexit” or a general election. There had been an attempt by Tom Watson, the deputy leader, to strengthen that policy and make a confirmatory vote a priority. But with Jeremy Corbyn, pictured, said to be implacably opposed, Watson’s move failed, prompting a furious backlash among members. Pictures of membership cards cut into pieces, or being fed into shredding machines, flooded social media last night and this morning. “I’m not voting Labour until there is a people’s vote,” wrote one member.