Labour rules out new EU vote on Brexit deal

Jeremy Corbyn has ruled out backing a second referendum on the final Brexit deal after suggestions Labour could include the policy in their general election manifesto.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has ruled out a second referendum on the final Brexit deal.

A spokesman for the Labour leader said: “A second referendum is not our policy and it won’t be in our manifesto”.

It comes after shadow chancellor John McDonnell on Wednesday said the government should “put the deal to Parliament and possibly to the country overall” and Mr Corbyn dodged a question on the issue in his first keynote speech of the campaign.

Labour was reportedly considering calling for a second referendum to win over Remain voters who may be tempted to switch to the Liberal Democrats, who have promised a national poll on the final UK-EU deal.

Following his first major election speech yesterday morning, Mr Corbyn was asked whether he was considering or would rule out a second referendum on any agreement reached after withdrawal negotiations with the EU.

But he appeared to dodge the question, replying: “We haven’t threatened to turn Britain into an offshore tax haven on the shores of Europe, undermining the European economy.”

He added: “Walking away and trading under World Trade Organisation conditions will mean the manufacturing industry in this country would be severely damaged.”

After the speech, a spokeswoman for the leader said Labour’s position, backing a “meaningful vote” in Parliament, had not changed but did not explicitly rule out a second referendum.

Conservative Party chairman Sir Patrick McLoughlin then seized on the comments, insisting Mr Corbyn was sowing “chaos” which would “disrupt our Brexit negotiations”.

Jeremy Corbyn: SNP should clean up its mess and forget indyref2