Labour voters don't think their party should try to block Brexit, poll finds

The public at large also want the referendum result respected

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn (PA)

Almost half of Labour's voters do not want the party to try and block Brexit, a new poll for The Independent has found.

Though two-thirds of Labour supporters voted to Remain, the new ComRes study found that this does not necessarily translate into wanting to stop Article 50 being triggered.

48 per cent of the party’s voters now say the Opposition shouldn’t try and overturn the referendum result.

The finding is likely to take some pressure off Jeremy Corbyn, who has come in for criticism from some supporters for whipping his MPs not to block Article 50.

Mr Corbyn suffered several frontbench resignations over the Article 50 vote, which took place at the end of an all-hours debate about Brexit which ran late into the night for several days last week.

The most high-profile resignation was Clive Lewis, the shadow business secretary.

Multiple whips also voted Remain, though frontbenchers outside the shadow cabinet have been let off with a written warning and will not be forced to resign.

The public at large also broadly agree with Labour’s stance of not standing in the way of leaving the EU – with 64 per cent saying the party should not try to obstruct the process.

Labour will have to continue to walk a tightrope on Brexit, however, as a significant minority of Labour voters – 39 per cent – do want the result resisted. The remainder said they did not know.

The poll’s voting intention figures show that the Conservatives still enjoy a significant lead over Labour on 41 per cent compared to 26 per cent.

The Liberal Democrats and Ukip are level on 11 per cent, while the SNP is on 5 per cent, and the Green Party on 4 per cent.

ComRes interviewed 2,021 GB adults online between 8th and 10th February 2017. Data were weighted to be demographically representative of all GB adults. Data were also weighted by past vote recall. Voting intention figures are calculated using the ComRes Voter Turnout Model. ComRes is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules.