It’s not too late to deliver a Final Say on Brexit

This election has been described as a “once in a lifetime” choice. It’s a term that’s been slightly worn out by overuse, having previously been applied to a number of general elections that amounted to little more than business as usual. Yet Brexit is an extraordinary event, and this has been an extraordinary campaign. Not the least of its surprises was to see a former Conservative premier come as close as he dares to urging people to vote for anyone other than his old party. John Major’s comments confirm the extent to which the Tories have been captured by extremists.

Though mindful of the party’s rules – if Ken Clarke isn’t above them, nor is Major – Sir John’s meaning is pretty clear nonetheless. Speaking to a roomful of Final Say activists via video link, Major argued that too much is stake at this election to vote along tribal lines: “Vote,” he exhorted the audience, “for the candidate who you believe will best represent your own views and aspirations in parliament.” He then appealed to the overwhelmingly pro-EU youth of the nation, many of whom were not even born when he was in No 10: “Your vote is absolutely crucial – for you have the longest lease on our country’s future, and our place in the wider world.”

Sir John was joined by another old comrade from the 1990s, Michael Heseltine; a man who, like Mr Clarke, was kicked out of the Conservative Party he joined in 1955, and which he served with such distinction. Major and Heseltine were, in turn, supported by Tony Blair, who has also made no secret of his view that the voters should put country before party. All have made a cogent case for a second, confirmatory referendum on Brexit, and specifically on what at the moment passes for the prime minister’s “Brexit deal”. Whether these statesmen make much difference to the polling remains to be seen – but they certainly deserve to do so.

The arguments of principle and common sense for a second, Final Say, referendum remain as strong as they did a few months ago when 1 million people turned out on the streets of London to demand one. The 2016 vote can be respected for what it was – a vote on a principle, a vote to Leave, but not a vote to Leave on any terms whatsoever. It may well be that some people wanted a so-called “clean Brexit” – no deal. Yet others might have thought they were voting to stay in the single market, or the customs union, or both. Others still might have expected the EU to make concessions to Cameron, and to have a swift new referendum on those new terms – as had happened in three other EU countries. We simply cannot know what was in voters’ minds then; now there is a proposal on which they can be invited to pass judgement in the form of a Final Say referendum.

The way to secure such a confirmatory referendum now is to vote for the candidate best-placed to deliver it. As Sir John hints, this is unlikely to be a Conservative, even a former Remainer who voted against Theresa May and Boris Johnson’s “deals”, since most have since sworn allegiance to Mr Johnson’s manifesto. Labour, on the other hand, has endorsed a Final Say referendum. Some may find the stain of antisemitism will inhibit them from voting Labour with a clear conscience. For that, Labour alone is to blame. Yet there are many alternatives – the Liberal Democrats, Plaid Cymru, the SNP, Greens, as well as independent Conservatives like Dominic Grieve, David Gauke and Anne Milton (as well as the more independently-minded Anna Soubry).

Of course, voting tactically is not always straightforward. There are online guides, some of which have come under criticism for alleged party bias. The 2017 election baseline may be flawed since the national Labour vote has declined so much since then, while votes of other parties have edged up; the intervention of the Brexit Party in Tory target seats also complicates matters. Tactical voting is, however, still very much possible, and advisable.

It is not too late to deliver a popular decision on Brexit. The more loudly the electorate demands a Final Say, the closer they will come to getting one.