Labour target voters 'would back second Brexit referendum' - new poll
2 min read
Jeremy Corbyn is facing fresh pressure to change Labour's Brexit stance after a new poll found strong support for a second referendum among the party's target voters.
The YouGov/Sunday Mirror study reveals that 59% of Labour's target voters - people who do not currently support the party but who say they "might" or "would seriously consider" getting behind Mr Corbyn - want a fresh referendum on the final deal with the European Union.
Mr Corbyn has repeatedly said the party is not backing a second referendum, but Labour frontbenchers have been split on the issue in recent months.
Last week Shadow International Trade Secretary Barry Gardiner warned that a fresh EU vote could lead to "civil disobedience" and risked undermining "the whole principle of democracy in this country".
But frontbench colleagues including Shadow Brexit Secretary Sir Keir Starmer and Labour's deputy leader Tom Watson have refused to rule out supporting such a move.
Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell meanwhile said last week: "We recognise that when the Government comes forward with its proposals - and I’m worried we might be in a no-deal situation, Parliament will decide the next step.
"So we’re not saying any options [are] off the table when that debate happens."
The YouGov study - commissioned by the People's Vote campaign which is calling for a second vote - asked more than 10,000 of Labour's target voters for their take on a new referendum.
Just 27% of those surveyed said they disagreed with calls for a second vote on EU membership.
But fewer than a quarter (23%) of those polled think Labour's current policy on Brexit is clear, compared with 50% of Conservative voters and 57% for the Liberal Democrats.
According to the survey, some 31% of Labour's target voters think the party backs staying in the EU, compared to 23% who are aware of the party's actual position in favour of quitting the bloc.
Just under half (46%) of potential Labour voters meanwhile believe the party is neutral on Brexit.
The Labour leadership meanwhile faces the prospect of a challenge to its Brexit position at the party's annual conference next month.
A string of constituency Labour parties are mulling support for a motion in favour of a second referendum, while the leader of the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association has thrown his weight behind a 'Left Against Brexit' push.
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