Brexit: Labour deputy leader Tom Watson says he ‘could join’ next march for new EU referendum

Labour’s deputy leader argued the party’s policy is ‘moving in that direction’ of supporting a people’s vote on Brexit

Deputy Labour leader Tom Watson has said he could join next month’s march demanding a new referendum on the UK’s membership of the European Union.

Mr Watson said the party’s Brexit policy was “moving in that direction” of supporting a people’s vote, with hundreds of thousands set to descend on London to back a new referendum on Saturday 23 March.

The shadow cabinet member’s comments come as nine MPs left his party last week, partly in protest over Mr Corbyn’s handling of Brexit policy.

The Independent has campaigned for a new public vote through its Final Say campaign, with its petition gaining almost 1.5 million signatures.

Asked on Sunday if Mr Watson will be on the new march, he said: “Well, I might well be.

He went on: “If Theresa May can’t find it within herself to meet our red lines, closer economic union, then obviously our conference policy says that the next stage would be in favour of a people’s vote.

“So if we get to that point, then yes, I will be on the march.”

Labour’s conference policy stated that if Ms May’s Brexit deal is rejected and Labour cannot secure a general election, which it has so far been unable to, then all other options including a new public vote are in play.

But Mr Corbyn has been accused by some in his own party, including those MPs who recently quit, of not staying true to the agreed policy.

The eight departures from Mr Corbyn’s Labour party to form the Independent Group include Chuka Umunna, Chris Leslie, Gavin Shuker, Ann Coffey, Angela Smith, Mike Gapes and Joan Ryan. Ian Austin also left but did not join the group.

Mr Watson said in his interview on BBC1’s Andrew Marr Show that Labour had to be a party in which different traditions on the left of politics “can rub up against each other”.

He said that the ideas of MPs from the social democrat wing of the party need to be “given some greater weight” or more MPs would leave, and he outlined plans to give them a platform and demanded they be listened to by the shadow cabinet.

The deputy leader denied he was raising “a rebel flag” against Mr Corbyn within the party, but said he was instead “standing up for pluralism within our ranks”.

Saying that times were now “perilous” for Labour, he added that the new platform for social democrats did not yet have a form.

But he added: “My central point is, that social democratic voice has to be heard, because that is the only way will you keep the Labour Party unified and prohibit other colleagues from potentially leaving the PLP.”