The Conservatives with the DUP had the votes to pass Article 50 whatever the Labour leadership whipped. Abstaining or voting against would have just guaranteed Labour would be excoriated by the press just as they were beginning to get their manifesto message across to a wider audience.
So the Labour Party voted for legislation they didn't agree with in an attempt to appease the right-wing press and get them to stop attacking it? Hhhmmm. How's that plan working out?
The Conservatives with the DUP had the votes to pass Article 50 whatever the Labour leadership whipped. Abstaining or voting against would have just guaranteed Labour would be excoriated by the press just as they were beginning to get their manifesto message across to a wider audience.