Brexit: Labour MPs pressure Corbyn to solve crisis through referendum before seeking election

Labour MPs have heaped pressure on Jeremy Corbyn to resolve Brexit through a referendum before seeking an election.

Backbenchers urged the Labour leader to shift his stance on Brexit at the weekly parliamentary Labour party meeting, with calls for Mr Corbyn to prioritise a Final Say vote over an early trip to the polls.

Labour's official position is to focus on securing a general election - once the threat of a no-deal Brexit on 31 October has been taken off the table.

However MPs used the Commons meeting to urge the Labour leader to back a confirmatory vote on any Brexit deal, or to seek a referendum if he was installed as a caretaker prime minister.

It comes after Tom Watson, the party's deputy leader, was slapped down by Mr Corbyn for suggesting Labour was wrong to prioritise an election, saying a "general election should never be decided on a single issue".

One MP, who was present at the meeting, said: "It was the most harmonious and united PLP meeting for many years.

"Speaker after speaker, from all wings of the party and both Remain and Leave seats, stressed the importance of settling Brexit with another referendum before having an election."

Another MP told The Independent that Mr Corbyn was present at the meeting but did not commit to taking the approach forward.

The MP said: "Jeremy didn’t commit one way or another, but it was striking how many shadow cabinet members were nodding, too.

"Including [shadow cabinet members] John McDonnell and Barry Gardiner."

Labour could defeat the Tories and the Liberal Democrats in an election if a referendum was held first, according to Labour MPs Luke Pollard and Rachael Maskell.

The pair, writing for LabourList, said: "The remit of this caretaker government should be to hold a referendum first, then a general election.

"This would rob both the Tories and Lib Dems of their defining policies – no deal and revocation.

"Having dealt with Brexit, Labour can move onto leading the election campaign with a vision for radical transformation, addressing the real needs our society faces.

"The Tory failure, meanwhile, will be evident for all to see. Meanwhile the Lib Dems, in their call to revoke article 50, now have to re-examine who they are, since this is neither liberal nor democratic."

It comes after Labour splits were laid bare when Mr Corbyn said he did not "accept" or "agree with" Mr Watson's insistence that the party should prioritise a fresh Brexit referendum.

The deputy leader infuriated senior figures by giving a high-profile speech at the same time as Sir Keir Starmer, the shadow Brexit secretary, where he disagreed with official policy.

In the speech, Mr Watson said: "So let's deal with Brexit in a referendum, where every person can have their say, and then come together and fight an election on Labour’s positive social agenda, on our own terms.

"And once Brexit is settled Labour can fight a general election on our own terms – not on Boris Johnson’s 'Brexit do or die'."

He later faced an attempt to oust him from his post on the eve of Labour conference, tabled by Jon Lansman, founder of grassroots activists Momentum.

Mr Corbyn said at the time: "Labour will do everything to prevent a no-deal exit from the European Union - that is our first priority.

"After that, we want a general election so the people of this country can decide their future - do they want a government that invests, that ends austerity, that deals with the grotesque levels of inequality and poverty in Britain?

"They will get a chance for a public vote under a Labour government between Remain and a credible option which we will negotiate with the European Union."