Jeremy Corbyn shifts tack on Brexit

UK Labour leader shifts position to include a public vote, amid the disastrous collapse of support in the EU Union election.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn leaves his home yesterday. Picture: Getty Images

British Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has shifted his Brexit position to include a public vote, amid the disastrous collapse of Labour support in the EU Union election.

While the Tory leadership race is turning into a nine-way battle between most contenders arguing for a hard Brexit to counter the rise of the Brexit Party that won 32 per cent support at the weekend, Labour is also reconfiguring its approach to ward off the rise of the Liberal Democrats.

Up until now, Mr Corbyn has prevaricated with a confusing message about Labour’s Brexit position, arguing his priority was to bring about an early general election. Labour voters had no clear idea whether Labour was pro-­Remain or pro-Leave, as Mr Corbyn tried to keep traditional working class pro-Brexit voters in the northern areas of the country on side, yet appease its pro-­Remain London base.

But the scale of the EU losses — and the electorate’s clear preference for parties with obvious Brexit positions, has forced Mr Corbyn’s hand.

Labour haemorrhaged votes to the Lib Dems, getting just 14 per cent of the vote, down from 25.4 per cent and finishing third overall, with just 10 members elected.

The Tories are generally ­opposed to holding a second referendum, believing to do so would be a betrayal of the 2016 referendum result, but Mr Corbyn has now distanced himself from that same platform, saying he was listening to members.

“What you have from me today is a commitment that our party is listening to members and its supporters and reaching out to other parties across the House of Commons,” he said.

“Any final deal has to be put to a public vote and that we are prepared to do.” He then wrote a letter to Labour MPs saying: “It is clear that the deadlock in parliament can now only be broken by the issue going back to the people through a general election or a public vote. We are ready to support a public vote on any deal.’’

Shadow chancellor John McDonnell went even further and argued that the Labour position should be pro-Remain if it was to stop the country leaving by the deadline on ­October 31 without any deal with the EU.

“We’re saying quite clearly, if there can be a deal, great, but it needs to go back to the people,” Mr McDonnell said. “If it’s a no-deal, we’ve got to block it and the one way of doing that is going back to the people and arguing the case against it because it could be catastrophic for our economy.”

Powerful union leader Len McCluskey called on the Labour Party to “hold its nerve’’ and go into a looming general election with policies to unite the country.

Labour deputy Tom Watson has supported calls for the national executive committee to call an extraordinary party conference, or a postal ballot of members, to officially change the Labour ­position to adopt the public vote or a second referendum. A triumphant Nigel Farage, meanwhile, was looking to consolidate his Brexit Party’s newly won influence with a strong showing in the Peter­borough by-election this week.

Mr Farage said he would field candidates in all 650 electorates if there was a general election — a threat that could split the Conservative vote — and demanded a seat at the negotiating table when Theresa May’s successor is elected and talks restart with the EU.

But he predicted the bitterly split Tory party would struggle to elect a new leader capable of bringing about a no-deal Brexit and that the public would continue to feel betrayed about the Brexit referendum result.

An analysis of the EU result by Lord Michael Ashcroft shows that only one in three 2017 Conser­vatives who switched to the Brexit Party this time would back the Tories in a general election, with two-thirds saying they would stick with Mr Farage to ensure Brexit.

The Brexit Party attracted two-thirds of its support from dis­enchanted Tory voters.