Jeremy Corbyn faces calls to support ‘pragmatic’ second referendum

Jeremy Corbyn today faced growing calls to back a second referendum before a general election after a shadow Brexit minister said it would be the “most pragmatic” thing to do.

Labour’s policy is to go into an election promising to negotiate a fresh Labour deal which is then put to a public vote.

But Jenny Chapman, the shadow minister for exiting the European Union, said the party could back another referendum before a general election.

She told BBC Radio 4’s Westminster Hour she would like to stick to party policy but added: “If there is an opportunity to have another referendum it may be that the most pragmatic thing to do is to take that opportunity.

“We haven’t seen the [Brexit] deal, we don’t know what we’re going to be presented with on Saturday, but I would be very surprised if there wasn’t an amendment for a confirmatory ballot.” She made the comments as Mr Corbyn, below, came under pressure from senior shadow cabinet members to push for a second referendum before an election.

This weekend will see the first Saturday sitting of the House of Commons since the Falklands War and could provide an opportunity for MPs to force a public vote on any Brexit outcome. This could include a confirmatory referendum attached to any deal Boris Johnson secures.

Mayor Sadiq Khan told Sky News today that he supported a referendum before an election. He said: “My concern is if we haven’t resolved the issue of Brexit it will be the number one issue in a general election and people will use it as a proxy for their views on remain or Brexit.”

His views mirror that of deputy leader Tom Watson and shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry. But shadow cabinet minister Jon Trickett said he believed everybody in the Labour Party would get behind their policy when an election is announced.