Brexit news: Remain forges eight-point lead over Leave in new poll as Labour faces backlash over election leaflets
Updates from Westminster as it happened
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Your support makes all the difference.Jeremy Corbyn faced fury within Labour after campaign leaflets for the European elections suggested the party wanted to press ahead with Brexit, as a new opinion poll shows Remain has an eight-point lead over Leave.
A flyer drafted by the leader's office makes no mention of the party's policy for a second referendum on the UK's departure from the EU.
Labour MPs are reportedly writing to the ruling National Executive Committee to demand support for a fresh public vote be outlined in the party's European election manifesto, with some said to be prepared to quit over the issue.
Hilary Benn tweeted: "Labour has twice supported a confirmatory referendum in votes in the House of Commons. It’s our policy. Why isn’t it mentioned in this leaflet?"
Following reports that the Labour leadership had "forgot" the put the pledge in its draft leaflet, the party insisted that the manifesto would only be finalised at a meeting of the National Executive Committee on Tuesday.
“There are a number of different texts for different leaflets in circulation, including for a freepost and for other campaign purposes," a party spokesman said. "They all reflect existing party policy. Our manifesto for the European elections will be decided next Tuesday.”
Meanwhile new EU polling showed 45 per cent of Brits would vote to remain in the UK in a second referendum, compared to 37 per cent who would want to leave.
Every country in the EU would vote to remain if a referendum was held tomorrow, the survey found.
See below for the rolling updates throughout the day.
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Good morning and welcome to The Independent's live coverage of Brexit and other news from Westminster.
Labour is facing fury this morning over draft campaign material which makes no reference to the party's policy on a second referendum.
The European election flyers, reportedly written by the leader's office, appear to make it clear the party will press ahead with Brexit.
The leaflets were leaked to Huff Post UK after being sent MPs on Thursday.
A Labour MP told the website that party members and MPs were likely to quit in large numbers if asked to campaign on the basis of the leaflet.
They said: “No MEP or MP I’ve spoken to would be prepared to campaign on the basis of this leaflet. It hardly even mentions Europe and it sounds like it’s pro-Brexit."
Shadow Brexit secretary Keir Starmer is among the senior Labour figures said to be furious about the party's European election campaign leaflet.
He was reportedly not consulted on the wording of the flyer. Nor were deputy leader Tom Watson and shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry, who are both on party's Brexit sub-committee, and MEP Richard Corbett, the leader of the European Labour Party.
The leaflet says Labour will "keep a close relationship with the EU and protect workers' rights". It adds: "With Labour, Britain will have a proper say in future trade deals and businesses wouldn't have to pay to trade with Europe."
The rest of the flyer makes no mention on the EU and focuses instead on domestic policy.
A senior shadow ministerial source told HuffPost UK: “Keir is absolutely furious about the leaflet. He knows very well that it doesn’t reflect the party’s policy, the views of the membership or our candidates. It will have to change.”
Labour has previously indicated it would back a second referendum to avoid a "damaging Tory Brexit", although Jeremy Corbyn has so far resisted pressure to come fully behind a new public vote on the UK's EU membership.
Labour says it will set out its stall on a second referendum following local elections next month.
Responding to criticism of the EU election leaflet, a spokesman said:
This is a short pre-manifesto leaflet to introduce our candidates and set out our commitment to Leave and Remain voters to bring our country together.
It highlights how the Tories’ chaotic handling of Brexit has left our country in crisis and how our MEPs will fight for proper investment in communities, housing, jobs and industries.
Our full manifesto, which will address the issues of a Brexit deal and the circumstances of a referendum, will be published after the local elections.
The UK government is facing a legal challenge over its preparations for the upcoming European parliament elections amid fears millions of EU citizens could be deprived of their vote. My colleagues David Keys and Lizzy Buchan have the full story:
Nicola Sturgeon has hinted she will push for a second vote on Scottish independence even if the UK remains part of the European Union.
The first minister said "many people" would agree Westminster's treatment of Scotland during the Brexit process marked the "material change in circumstances" that would hand the SNP a mandate for such a referendum.
Ms Sturgeon yesterday outlined plans for a new vote on Scotland's place in the UK before the next Holyrood elections in May 2021 if the UK leaves the EU.
"We can only plan on the basis that the UK is still going to be taken out of the EU - that is what the UK government is planning to do," she told BBC Radio Scotland this morning.
But she added: "Many people would say there has been a big material change of circumstances in the way Scotland has been treated over the past few years."
The SNP's 2016 election manifesto made clear another referendum should be held if there was to be a "material change in circumstances" from the original ballot in 2014.
The EU will be eager to be shot of the UK when our fresh crop of MEPs arrive in Brussels "like that Mad Max biker gang that crashes the house party in Weird Science", envisages our sketch writer Tom Peck:
Far-right figurehead Tommy Robinson yesterday announced he was standing for election to European parliament in the North West region of England.
In a column for The Independent, writer and historian Mike Stuchberry warns that while the English Defence League founder is almost certain to fail to become an MEP, his campaign will be "hell-bent on stirring divisions":
The Liberal Democrats are this morning launching their European election campaign, and their position on Brexit is rather clearer than Labour's:
Ukip’s leader Gerard Batten has thrown his support behind a candidate from rival party Change UK who was criticised by Muslim community groups for her views about Islam, reports The Independent's Europe correspondent Jon Stone.
Nora Mulready’s selection for the European Parliament elections was condemned as a “joke” by racism reporting service Tell MAMA and criticised by the Muslim Council of Britain.
But the remain-supporting centrist party has found an unlikely ally in arch-Brexiteer Mr Batten – who himself has been criticised for an alleged “fixation” with Islam.
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