Publicity-loving Labour MEP Seb Dance last week stirred up a full-blown internal investigation into claims that pro-Brexit group Labour Leave made improper payments to UKIP during the EU referendum campaign. Such payments would be in breach of Labour’s rulebook. The party’s largest donor and Labour Leave founder millionaire John Mills was caught up in the story, with Dance calling for him to be thrown out of the party.

Jeremy Corbyn today tells Labour supporters in Yorkshire to vote Remain to “protect workers across Europe”. In the new film “Lexit: The Movie”, produced by Labour Leave, Jezza’s brother Piers demolishes that argument:

“The idea that the European Union is a happy-clappy haven for workers rights is complete nonsense… We do not need an unelected bureaucracy to tell us, “ok, you can have these rights”. They’re taking the power to defend these rights away from us. What’s this about? We can defend ourselves. And once you give away the power to defend yourself to someone else, you know they can stop defending you. Look at Greece. Were they defended? No.”

You can watch the hour long film making the case for Lexit here…

The Guardian’s John Harris went to Stoke-on-Trent. This 10 minute video is instructive. Labour’s heartlands are becoming full of ex-Labour voters…

N.B. Co-conspirators can crowdfund Labour Leave here.

Labour’s Frank Field made the left-wing case for Brexit on the Daily Politics:

“many of the social rights, which are trumpeted about as European, were ones which we actually took into Europe. It’s not that in fact somehow workers in this country were bereft of rights until we joined the European Union.”

It’s what Jezza wants to say but can’t…

Guido has had the chance to ask John McDonnell, a hardline Eurosceptic, why he is selling out on his principles and backing Remain. You can tell by the withering answer and look on his face that toeing the line pains him:

“I’m old enough to have voted in the last referendum, and I voted not to stay in… I’ve been somewhat anxious about the way Europe has gone since… I’ve been convinced of the need to Remain within, in terms of jobs and commitments, and also the internationalist approach that we have tried to develop as a party, in terms of working cooperatively with others across Europe and elsewhere in the globe. But I do see the need for a reform agenda, and that’s the good thing about the EU debate now: it will enable us to bring forward a reform agenda… I’m trying to be as honest as I can.”

The “honest” answer is that he believes we should Leave…

Guido has been down to the launch of Labour Leave, where Kate Hoey reminded the room that Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell have walked through the Commons voting lobby with the party’s Eurosceptics for decades. Asked if Corbyn wanted to Leave “in his heart of hearts”, Hoey replied:

“Well, I can’t speak for Jeremy. But over the past twenty years Jeremy and John were always with us, so I’ll leave it with that.” 

A brave Quentin Letts asked: “I don’t mean to sound ungentlemanly, Kate, but where are the younger more glamorous Parliamentarians?”

Labour MP Kelvin Hopkins noted the Euroscepticism of two late socialist heroes:

“If Tony Benn and indeed Bob Crow had survived this long, I’d be proud to see them and I’d be on this platform with them” 

Intriguingly, Graham Stringer revealed he would be meeting Corbyn this afternoon to lobby him to change his mind about selling out to the Shadow Cabinet on Europe:

“It is surprising that he now want to lead a campaign which isn’t even asking for a renegotiation position… It would not surprise me if that didn’t change”

Remember, Corbyn’s sell-out position is “Labour will be campaigning in the referendum for the UK to stay in the European Union… regardless of the outcome of the Government’s renegotiation.” Looks like Labour Leave will at least have a go at getting him to stick to his principles and go nuclear on his Shadow Cabinet…