Jeremy Corbyn faces increased trade union pressure to back referendum on final Brexit deal

Motions have been tabled for the TUC annual congress 

Tuesday 28 August 2018 19:08 BST
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Labour Party leader, Jeremy Corbyn
Labour Party leader, Jeremy Corbyn (Reuters)

Union leaders are reportedly calling on Jeremy Corbyn to back a referendum on the final Brexit deal.

Motions have been tabled for the Trade Union Congress (TUC) annual congress urging unions to campaign for a second vote.

One, which is supported by the Transport Salaried Staff Association union, says “to campaign for ordinary people to have a final say through a referendum on any Brexit deal agreed so that people can make an informed decision on the deal on offer”.

Another proposal which has been put forward by the Royal College of Midwives “calls for the option of a public vote on the final Brexit deal to be kept on the table”, The Telegraph reported.

If either of the two motions are passed it will increase pressure on Mr Corbyn to back the campaign for a referendum on the Brexit deal.

Labour has been split on the proposals with the likes of Andy Burnham, the Labour Mayor of Manchester, dismissing them.

Shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer has not ruled them out.

The Independent had previously reported that the Co-operative Party – Labour’s sister organisation – which counts three shadow cabinet ministers and eight other frontbenchers among its ranks, is now planning to hold a vote on whether to back a new referendum at its conference in October.

Some Labour MPs in Brexit are nonetheless likely to be unhappy with the idea.

The Independent has launched its own campaign calling for the British people to have a final say on the government’s Brexit deal.

The Final Say campaign demands the electorate is given a vote before the UK leaves the EU in 2019 and the petition has so far been signed by more than 715,000 people.

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