Tom Watson to widen Labour’s Brexit split with calls for second EU referendum before general election
LABOUR’S deputy leader Tom Watson will today widen his party’s Brexit split by calling for a second referendum before a general election.
He will say: “The only way to break the Brexit deadlock once and for all is a public vote in a referendum. A general election might well fail to solve this chaos.”
Watson will also call for Labour to “unambiguously and unequivocally back Remain”.
It cuts across Jeremy Corbyn’s official policy of triggering a general election as soon as a No Deal Brexit on October 31 is no longer possible.
Corbyn has said that if elected he will then hold a second referendum which offers voters a “credible Leave option” alongside Remain.
His deputy’s plan would mean extending the current deadlocked Parliament for at least six months until a referendum could be held.
Watson, one of many Labour MPs who want the party to back Remain, will say in a London speech the 2016 referendum result is “no longer valid” because circumstances have changed.
Labour MP Caroline Flint blasted Mr Watson’s plan.
She said: “This is fantasy politics. There is no Parliamentary majority for a second referendum.
“We should concentrate on getting a Brexit deal to regain some of the public trust in Parliament that is clearly being lost.”
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