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I think the focus should be on holding to account the people and the party who put us in this position
This. But later.
rather than suggesting that the Labour leadership's circumspection is why we are where we are.
Labour's circumspection is more why they are where they are now. The lack of a willingness to engage on any key points re: brexit hasn't really helped the broader political conversation. Nor has corbyn's reluctance to come out and admit he was and remains pro-brexit, as the pro-remain/anti tory vote lent him a lot of good will last general election. And honestly, how the Lib Dems have failed so miserably to capitalise on any of this as a pro-remain party is baffling.
Tonts
@tbc
Brexit has obviously posed a massive issue for Labour, and exposed how dangerous it is to have a membership and body of voters that are hugely split.
They had two options, either of which would have had huge consequences:
Take a clear stance on Brexit, despite the fact that it was a Conservative policy, to solve an internal Conservative conflict. In doing so, you choose who you alienate: your urban, metropolitan, liberal membership, who voted Remain, or your traditional, perhaps more socially conservative small-town Labour voters, whose position have felt a lot more precarious and who may have voted Leave fearing a further shift in their position. You could suggest, for example, that they made the wrong decision because they didn't know what they were doing, and see if they thank you for this in the next election.
Take a woolier stance on Brexit, suggesting that it's the Tories' problem to fix, and that either way, the country in government in the UK is likely to make more of a difference to a lot of people's lives than whether we are in or out of the EU.
Lots of people find it really hard to see the benefit or attraction of option 2, and lots of middle class urban Labour supporters don't see the downside of taking a clear stance on Remaining, which is also understandable.
But Labour taking option 2 worked quite well in the general election.
I don't think Labour are doing the right thing now, because I don't know what the right thing is. The problem all comes down to the fact that we had the referendum in the first place, and I think the focus should be on holding to account the people and the party who put us in this position, rather than suggesting that the Labour leadership's circumspection is why we are where we are.