Labour votes to keep open the option of second Brexit referendum

Labour has opened the door to reversing Britain’s decision to leave the European Union, by backing a potential second referendum.

The party’s conference in Liverpool voted overwhelmingly to keep the option of a fresh vote “on the table”, after shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer explicitly stated that it could include the option of staying in the EU.

Sir Keir won a standing ovation from a large majority of delegates, though some remained firmly in their seats.

His declaration that “nobody is ruling out Remain as an option” was not included in printed copies of his speech distributed to the media, sparking speculation that he may have gone beyond the position agreed by Labour’s high command.

But leader Jeremy Corbyn said that the contents of the speech had been cleared by his office in advance.

He said Labour would subject any deal reached by Theresa May with Brussels to the six tests set out by Sir Keir, including that it should deliver “the exact same benefits” as single market and customs union membership.

And he said Labour was prepared to vote the PM’s deal down.

Both Sir Keir and shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry told the conference that they would personally vote Remain in any re-run referendum.

But Mr Corbyn himself repeatedly declined to say which way he would vote, telling Five News: “It depends what the question is in the referendum… We will decide as a party when the referendum comes what our position will be.

“I think it’s pretty obvious what party members are thinking at this conference.”

More than 100 constituency parties tabled motions calling for a second referendum, and thousands of People’s Vote supporters marched through Liverpool to intensify pressure on Mr Corbyn.

The final motion put to delegates does not commit Labour to a referendum, and makes clear that its preferred option would be an early general election.

But Sir Keir told the conference that if Labour could not secure an election “we must have other options”.

He said: “That must include campaigning for a public vote.

“It is right that Parliament has the first say but if we need to break the impasse, our options must include campaigning for a public vote and nobody is ruling out Remain as an option.”

Labour’s vote was welcomed by the Best For Britain campaign for a second referendum, whose chief Eloise Todd said: “Today is a game-changer for the campaign to give the people the final say on Brexit.

“The passing of this motion has left the door open to Labour backing a people’s vote on Brexit, reflecting what the vast majority of Labour members and voters want and a majority in the country want.”

But there were signs of dissent within the party.

The general secretary of the Labour Leave group, Brendan Chilton, described Sir Keir’s comments as “a betrayal of the very highest order” which would cost Labour seats in the Midlands and Wales.

“At times the speech had more in common with a leadership stump speech than a policy announcement,” said Mr Chilton.

“Many people will wonder whether Sir Keir is trying to line himself up as the Remain replacement for Jeremy.”

And MP Gareth Snell said Sir Keir’s “unilateral declaration” about the possibility of a Remain option was “disappointing”.

“While members rejoice, we must not forget the voters we need to win over,” said the MP for Leave-backing Stoke-on-Trent Central.

At a conference fringe event Sir Keir Starmer said he did not know whether Brexit day would be delayed if the Government’s proposals were voted down in Parliament or if an election put Labour into power.

“I don’t know whether Article 50 will have to be extended or not,” he said.

“I do know we are running out of time.”

But Ms Thornberry told an event hosted by The Times that if Labour took office in a snap election, “we need to extend Article 50 and essentially turn up in Europe and say ‘the grown-ups have turned up now’.”

In a round of TV interviews at the Liverpool conference, Mr Corbyn made clear that an election was his preferred outcome.

He told Sky News: “We will vote against (a deal) if it doesn’t meet our six tests.

“The Government will then have to go back to the European Union and continue negotiations, or they might choose to resign and have a general election so the people of this country can decide who they want to conduct these negotiations.”

Stressing that Labour’s priority in any Brexit deal was to protect jobs, manufacturing industry, living standards and workplace and environmental protections, Mr Corbyn denied that his stance was letting down Labour supporters who backed Leave.

He told ITV News: “People voted different ways in the referendum but nobody voted to lose their jobs or voted to damage the living standards of the majority of people in this country.

“They voted Leave out of anger, anger at deindustrialisation, anger at fly-by-night economics which replaces skilled unionised jobs with zero-hours contracts.”