Labour’s Owen Smith committing ‘electoral suicide’ by promising to stop Brexit and hold second referendum
Leadership hopeful advised to accept Britain's decision to leave the EU and engage with the Brexit negotiations
GAFFE-prone Owen Smith was yesterday urged to accept the referendum result - or face “electoral suicide”.
Labour’s biggest donor John Mills said it was time for Labour to accept the EU Referendum vote and “engage productively” with the EU renegotiation process.
It followed the leadership contender’s vow to block Brexit unless Theresa May promises another referendum on the final Brexit deal or has a general election to approve it.
While Corbyn supporter and musician Billy Bragg tweeted: “Not sure Owen Smith has really thought this one through.”
Mr Mills, Chairman of Labour Leave, said: "Labour Leave will continue to work hard to stop any second referendum.
"It is time for the Labour Party to put behind itself the divisions of the past and accept the result of the vote.
“Rather than fighting old battles, the Labour Party should now engage productively with the EU renegotiation process to make sure that the UK Government secures the best possible deal for the working people of this country.
Crash fear
BY RYAN SABEY
A LABOUR grandee has insisted the party faces electoral wipe-out if it ever opposes Brexit.
Brexiteer Kate Hoey blasted leadership hopeful Owen Smith over plans to hold up Britain’s exit from the EU.
Corbyn challenger Smith has pledged to campaign against triggering Article 50 until the government calls a second a referendum or a general election to approve an exit deal.
Hoey last night said: “If Labour insist on opposing Brexit or trying to block it not only would we be opposing the democratic will of the people but we would be guaranteed to never win back our lost support in our heartlands.
“Labour voters had the courage to ignore the dire warnings and the hysterical insults thrown at them by the Remainers.”
She found it “shocking” that Smith would want to “undermine democracy” by stalling the exit process.
She said: “He is really arguing (in the classic EU-style) that the British people voted, got it wrong, and must be made to try again until they choose the “correct” answer.”
It has emerged that Downing Street has consulted lawyers who say Theresa May has the executive power to start the process of leaving the EU and won’t need to hold a Parliamentary vote.
She also said that Brexit negotiators David Davis and Liam Fox want “Labour voices” with them as part of negotiations.
"The fact that some Labour politicians continue to call for a rerun, or even suggest that they may block the vote, demonstrates how important it is for Labour Leave to continue to exist.
“Throughout the exit process, Labour Leave will continue to hold politicians to account to guarantee that they are not allowed to overturn or back-track on the decision taken by this country.
"This is an incredibly important job, and we will not stop until the UK finally leaves the EU.
"It is also worth these politicians remembering that millions of Labour people voted leave in the EU Referendum.
"In fact, it was left-of-centre people that swung the final vote towards 'Leave'. We will make sure that their voices continue to be represented in the debate.”
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While Labour Leave say Mr Smith's vow would be "electoral suicide" and the party should concentrate on contributing positively to the renegotiation process instead.
Brendan Chilton, General Secretary of Labour Leave, said: "Blocking Brexit would be electoral suicide for the Labour Party.
"The Labour heartlands voted overwhelmingly in favour of leaving the European Union.
"In many of those seats UKIP are now second to Labour, and any attempt to block Brexit or rerun the referendum by the party would be extremely irresponsible.
"It would surely lead to more Labour voters decamping to UKIP, and would certainly stop the Labour Party from winning a General Election in the foreseeable future.”
While Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said Parliament had to "work with" the result of the referendum.