Labour MPs vow to revive Commons push for a second referendum in bid to end Brexit 'crisis'
2 min read
Labour MPs Peter Kyle and Phil Wilson will today promise to bring back a Commons plan to amend any future Brexit deal with a second referendum.
As Labour Party conference gets underway in Brighton, the MPs for Hove and Sedgefield will tell a People's Vote rally that they have decided to bring back their amendment after a version of the plan failed to pass the first time around.
If MPs supported the proposal it would place the Prime Minister’s deal as the "credible" Leave option versus Remain on the ballot in a referendum.
The amendment had the most support of any in a round of indicative votes carried out in April, gaining 280 votes with the backing of all opposition parties and a number of Conservative backbenchers, but was ultimately defeated by 12 votes.
With Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn now committing the party to a second referendum on any Brexit outcome, supporters of the Kyle-Wilson amendment hope their bid will break the deadlock in Parliament.
Mr Kyle said: “Brexit has paralysed our politics for far too long. The best way to solve this crisis is to give the public the final say.”
““No one can trust Boris Johnson to solve this Brexit crisis either with No Deal or a Deal. If he tries to force his vision for a destructive Brexit through Parliament, we will make seek to amend it so that it can only proceed if the people get the chance to have the final say”, he added.
And Mr Wilson added: “If Boris Johnson is so confident that his version of Brexit is what the people want, he should have the confidence of his convictions and let the people be the ones to decide.”
"Holding a confirmatory referendum will answer the question once and for all – where do the public want the country to go on Brexit?
"Once that question is decisively answered, our country can finally move on from Brexit and start to deal with the many other pressing issues we face, like climate change, industrial strategy, education, crime and healthcare. A confirmatory referendum on Brexit is the only way to deliver a lasting and stable conclusion to this crisis, once and for all.”
The move comes amid a major Brexit row for the party, with Momentum founder Jon Lansman launching a surprise eve-of-conference move to oust Labour's deputy leader Tom Watson.
Mr Watson has urged Jeremy Corbyn to hold a second referendum before any general election and argued that the party should adopt an unequivocally pro-Remain position.
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