Brexit-backing Labour MP Gisela Stuart says her party is 'irrelevant'

One of Labour's leading Brexit supporters has accused the party of making itself "irrelevant".

Outgoing MP Gisela Stuart, who co-chaired the Vote Leave campaign during the referendum, said the party had to "think hard" about why it did not share the "optimism" of voters who backed Brexit.

Writing in The Daily Telegraph, she said Labour had to be more than a pressure group or movement and sell itself as a party of government that shared voters' desires.

The Birmingham Edgbaston MP, who announced she would not stand in the June 8 election last week, said that Brexit will be the "defining issue for this generation" and warned the campaign so far lacked "precision".

She said: "This is the best opportunity since 1945 to renew our nation's politics and society and it speaks volumes that at this moment Labour has made itself irrelevant.

"If we do want to be a party of government again, Labour must prepare for its own process of renewal."

Ms Stuart said that while Prime Minister Theresa May was focusing on "strong leadership" during the election campaign, Labour can focus on the Conservative Party's record on schools, the NHS and housing.

But she said the party would need more than a "wish list and a collection of grievances.”

Ms Stuart also urged the leadership to resist the temptation to plan for a hung parliament and make pacts with other parties.

She said: "If Labour instead wants to be a party of government, it has to go into the election fighting for every vote.

"It must attack the Tories, yes, but it must also take a good look at the confidence and optimism voters feel about this country outside the EU and think hard about why Labour is not with them."

Ms Stuart, who was first elected in 1997, announced she would not be seeking re-election at the start of the campaign.