Jeremy Corbyn Told To Secure Second Brexit Referendum In Letter Signed By 80 Labour MPs

7 April 2019, 08:07

Jeremy Corbyn has been urged to secure a second Brexit referendum by 80 Labour MPs. Picture: PA

80 Labour MPs have called on Jeremy Corbyn to make a second Brexit referendum his "bottom line" in negotiations with the Prime Minister in an open letter to the party's leader.

With just days before the UK's second default date of departure, the Labour leader met with the government to try to find a solution to the current deadlock in Parliament.

But an open letter to Mr Corbyn urging him to make a public vote his "bottom line" was signed by 80 Labour MPs, including Liz Kendall, David Lammy, Jess Philips, Owen Smith, Angela Eagle, Stephen Doughty, Chris Bryant, and Rupa Huq.

The letter said: "Theresa May has been clear that the legally binding part of the Brexit deal, the Withdrawal Agreement, cannot be renegotiated.

"This means that the only concessions Labour could obtain will be non-binding assurances about the future relationship.

"Any future Tory Prime Minister could simply rip up these 'guarantees' after Theresa May leaves office, and it is the stated aim of the vast majority of Tory MPs to do precisely this.

"The only way to guarantee jobs, rights and protections - and Labour’s reputation with its membership and the electorate - is to support a confirmatory public vote on any option which is agreed by parliament, which will put additional pressure on the government to hold the early general election the country needs.”

It was organised by the Love Socialism Hate Brexit campaign, a group of Labour MPs who are fighting to stop Brexit.

Today, 80 Labour MPs wrote to @jeremycorbyn.

A confirmatory public vote must be our bottom line. pic.twitter.com/f2vyxR1Kx3
— Love Socialism Hate Brexit (@LoveSocialism) April 6, 2019

The letter ended: "We - your supporters - urge you to make a confirmatory public vote your bottom line in negotiations with Theresa May and to fight to bring this government down."

The cross-party talks come as Theresa May asked the European Union for an extension to Article 50 to the end of June.

But EU Council President Donald Tusk has indicated that the only "reasonable" way out of the deadlock was to delay Brexit until March next year - meaning that the UK will have to take part in the elections next month.