Unite boss Len McCluskey warns Jeremy Corbyn against offering 'remain' option in second Brexit vote
4 min read
Labour should not offer voters the option of staying in the European Union if the party throws its weight behind a second Brexit referendum, a powerful ally of Jeremy Corbyn has said.
Unite general secretary Len McCluskey - whose trade union is Labour's biggest financial backer - said "people have already decided" to leave the EU and warned that a fresh poll could alienate "significant numbers of traditional Labour supporters".
The intervention came as Mr Corbyn said he would be willing to back a referendum on the final deal should Labour members vote for it at this week's party conference.
The Labour leader told the Andrew Marr show: "Let's see what comes out of conference. And then, obviously I'm bound by the democracy of our party."
But Mr McCluskey told the BBC's Jon Pienaar that the referendum "shouldn’t be on do we want to go back into the European Union".
Asked whether it should include an option to 'remain', he said: “No, because the people have already decided on that."
The union chief added: "Here’s one of the problems Labour have: there are significant numbers of traditional Labour supporters who are saying, 'We’re going to vote Conservative because we don’t trust Labour to take us out of the European Union' - despite the fact that Jeremy has said repeatedly, 'of course we recognise the result, of course we respect the result, we’re coming out of the European Union.'
"For us to now enter some kind of campaign that opens up that issue again I think would be wrong."
Eliminating the 'Remain' option from any second referendum would likely leave voters with the choice of either accepting Theresa May's Brexit deal or leaving the European Union without a deal - a move that could potentially outrage many of those pushing for a fresh vote.
The Labour leadership's shift on a second referendum came as a survey of party members revealed that 86% are in favour of such a move.
The YouGov study for the People's Vote campaign found that just 8% of Labour members were against a second referendum.
Labour MP David Lammy, speaking on behalf of People's Vote, said: "There are really positive signs coming from the Labour leadership this weekend that they are listening to our party’s members, affiliates and voters.
"Demands for a People’s Vote have been getting louder and louder by the day and indications that those will now be heard on the conference floor are welcome."
But Shadow Business Secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey said she had "reservations" about a fresh referendum, citing fears that the Government would "hold the pen" when drafting the question put to voters.
"They would determine the questions that would be asked in such a People's Vote," she told Sky's Sophy Ridge.
"They might be able to skew it in particular directions to secure the result that they wanted. And I would question the fairness of that."
While she said Labour would "of course" accept a second referendum if members choose to back it, she said she would "prefer to push the government into a general election".
Labour's deputy leader Tom Watson - who voted to stay in the EU in 2016 - meanwhile said it was "highly likely" he would vote to say in the European Union in any second referendum.
"I think it is highly likely that I'd probably vote remain in the next one," he told Sophy Ridge.
"But I would look at what the question is on offer and I would want to know what the deal is that comes out of the negotiations in Europe if that happens."
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