27 MPs robbed us of a people's vote last night. If we want a future for young people, Labour must take it back

When frontbenchers break three-line whips without consequence, they’re not standing up for their constituents. But a people’s vote is within grasp if politicians listen to their members and voters

Have the two main parties ever been so pitiful? As we face national catastrophe, a dearth of leadership, the lack of clarity and conviction evident in the Commons is astonishing and depressing in equal measure.

This time last year, frustrated by the lack of attention being placed on the damaging impact Brexit would have on young people, I co-founded For our Future’s Sake. It was clear even then that the promises made in 2016 were undeliverable.

There was little doubt that Theresa May, Boris Johnson and David Davis didn’t have a clue what they were doing. And it was obvious that at some point, Labour's position of “constructive ambiguity” would no longer be constructive; it would be catastrophic.

Fast forward 12 months and we have been proven entirely and devastatingly correct. In many ways, yesterday’s announcement by May that she will not lead the next phase of the Brexit negotiations was inevitable.

The prime minister has spent almost three years trying to feed the ravenous far-right of her party. Should we really be surprised by the proclamation of support for May’s deal from Johnson and Mogg?

With May’s imminent departure, a deal which has previously been described as "slavery" and "the worst deal in human history’’, is now worthy of support simply because the crown is now within grasp.

Having wrestled back control of the Brexit process, MPs failed to agree on any of the eight options that could help bring more clarity. Thankfully, the unicorns of the "Malthouse Compromise" and Norway Plus do not command enough support to be taken seriously.

Still standing, however, is the idea of a people’s vote. Margaret Beckett’s amendment called for any Brexit deal to be subject to a confirmatory public vote. It gained the most backing of all the choices. Added to last Saturday’s Put it to the People March, the Final Say campaign is gaining momentum.

Which is why yesterday’s drama on the blue side shouldn’t blind us to the inadequacies of the red team.

After the Labour leadership whipped its MPs, over 80 per cent of Labour MPs united last night around Beckett’s amendment. It is a position backed overwhelmingly by Labour Party members and voters across the United Kingdom.

As a Labour Party member since the age of 16, it is incredibly frustrating that 27 Labour MPs voted against the Beckett Amendment, with another 18 MPs abstaining. That includes members of the shadow cabinet. In fairness to Melanie Onn, Labour’s former shadow housing minister, she at least had the courage of her convictions to resign from Shadow Cabinet.

But what of Ian Lavery? As chair of the party, he is responsible for representing the views of members to the shadow cabinet. Not only is he flying in the face of Labour members, he’s even pulling in an entirely different direction to his constituency: 69 per cent of people who say they are planning on voting Labour at the next election back a people’s vote.

Labour MPs who abstained or voted against the amendment may be trying to ensure that “Labour’s heartlands” in the midlands and the north of England aren’t scared off by Labour’s new anti-Brexit stance. But polling recently completed in those areas show Labour voters back their party’s new position by 75 per cent.

It’s not like there’s anything particularly left wing about Labour’s plan either. By remaining in the customs union and securing close alignment to the single market, we would still have to follow the EU’s competition policies and still have some rules about state aid. The only difference would be that we wouldn’t have a say over said rules.

We know now that there is no Brexit deal that doesn’t hit the poorest communities, the hardest. There is no end to a Brexit deal being passed, except to install a right wing Brexiter in Number 10. So when frontbenchers break three-line whips without consequence, let’s be clear about what they’re doing – they’re not standing up for their constituents.

Crunch time is fast approaching. A people’s vote is within grasp if Labour MPs listen to their members and voters and give the public the Final Say. If they do, they will spare the country from the turmoil created by a Tory party more concerned by rivalries and ambition than the national interest.

Jason Arthur is a co-founder of For our Future's Sake, and a Labour Party activist