Theresa May must call general election if she cannot win support for final Brexit deal, Jeremy Corbyn says

Labour leader predicts government policy, agreed after hours of talks between ministers, will 'unravel in a few days'

Jeremy Corbyn said the Brexit policy agreed by the cabinet did not have 'widespread support' among Tory MPs (Reuters)

Jeremy Corbyn has called on Theresa May to call a general election is she fails to get Parliament to support the final Brexit deal.

The Labour leader said the government’s Brexit plan, agreed after hours of talks at Chequers, did not have “widespread support” among Conservative MPs.

If Ms May cannot secure MPs’ backing for proposals for Britain’s future relationship with the EU then she should “trigger a general election”, he said.

His comments came hours after his shadow Brexit secretary, Sir Keir Starmer, said Labour was “not ruling out” supporting a second Brexit referendum if Parliament rejects the deal.

Speaking while campaigning in Grays, Essex, Mr Corbyn was asked if a second referendum was more likely after the cabinet agreed a Brexit policy that was swiftly condemned by a number of Tory Brexiteers.

Eurosceptics have made clear they would vote against any agreement that keeps Britain closely tied to the EU.

The Labour leader said MPs would vote on the final Brexit deal the government agrees with Brussels, saying: “Personally I think it should trigger a general election if they can’t get agreement.”

He questioned whether the EU would accept the UK’s proposals, adding: “I have a feeling the whole thing might start to unravel in a few days.”

Asked if a second referendum was now more likely, Mr Corbyn said: “I think it means that the issue is going to have to come back to Parliament, there’s going to have to be a proper vote on it.

“Here we are, two years since the referendum and the Government still hasn’t produced a white paper on its own negotiating stance.

“We will obviously examine the details of this alleged agreement within the Cabinet.”

Mr Corbyn reiterated Labour’s support for the UK remaining in a customs union with the EU, suggesting some Tories were beginning to adopt a similar view.

He said: “We have been talking about that since the very beginning, it is interesting that at last some of the most recalcitrant elements are beginning to recognise that there has to be a customs union and there isn’t the option of some sweetheart trade deal with the US that doesn’t a) mean that we limit our trade with Europe and b) means we would have to diminish our environmental regulations and standards.”

Mr Corbyn’s calls for a general election if the final Brexit deal is voted down come after Sir Keir Starmer suggested Labour could back calls for a “People’s Vote” in such a scenario.

He told a private meeting of the Labour Business Group: “It is Parliament that should decide what happens next, it should have the power to decide the options, and this might involve a general election or a ‘People’s Vote’.”

“We’re not calling for it. We respect the result of the first referendum.

“But we’re not ruling out a second referendum.”

The Unite union, Labour’s biggest financial backer, is also open to the possibility of a second referendum if the Brexit deal is unacceptable.