Corbyn-backing group calls on Labour to back fresh Brexit referendum

Left-wing members are urging Labour to steer away from Theresa May’s ‘kamikaze’ Brexit

A new Jeremy Corbyn-backing group on Monday urged the Labour leader to support a fresh referendum and steer his party away from Theresa May’s “kamikaze” Brexit.

The grassroots campaign – Labour for a People’s Vote – includes an economist who has advised the shadow chancellor John McDonnell, and the transport union boss Manuel Cortes.

The group claims the effects of Brexit would make the prospects for a socialist Labour government “much worse” and places pressure on Mr Corbyn, who has repeatedly said the party is not supporting another referendum.

The intervention follows a major demonstration on Saturday when more than 100,000 activists joined a cross-party campaign also calling for a fresh public vote once the prime minister brings a deal to the table.

It coincides with members of Momentum signing a petition calling on the organisation to back a public vote on the final deal.

Currently, the left-wing group supports the Labour leadership’s position on Brexit, but a vote could be triggered on the group’s stance if the petition gathers 4,000 signatures.

According to Labour for a People’s Vote, activists in 60 Constituency Labour Party (CLP) groups have pledged to put forward a motion on the issue to both their local party and to the national conference in Liverpool later this year.

The group’s launch statement – signed by Mr Cortes and the economist Ann Pettifor – said the “election of a radical Labour government, to deliver a future of hope, solidarity and equality, is our first priority”.

It adds: “We are therefore coming together to urge the movement of which we are a part to oppose the Tories’ destructive Brexit and unite the country behind a radical and hopeful vision for the future.”

Ms Pettifor, who was appointed by Mr Corbyn in 2015 to a panel of experts advising Labour on economic policy, is also a supporter of the group, as is the Momentum member Michael Chessum, who worked on Mr Corbyn’s second leadership campaign.

Mr Chessum said: “We have no interest in undermining the current leadership – quite the opposite. Tory Brexit would be a disaster for the prospects of a radical Labour government – it would deregulate and shrink the economy and attack working class people and migrants.

“We cannot ignore that any longer – and many people who are not die-hard Remainers will be reaching the same conclusion.”

Organisers of the new group also said they expect their ranks to swell now that the campaign has been publicly launched.

A Labour party spokesperson said: “Labour respects the result of the referendum and is working with for a jobs-first Brexit which protects jobs, living standards and the economy.”