Brexit: Thousands rally on fringes of Labour conference to demand party support second EU vote

Labour MP David Lammy asks: 'Are you listening Jeremy Corbyn?'

Thousands of people have turned out at a rally to demand Labour throw its support behind a second public vote on the final Brexit deal, as one MP asked: “Are you listening Jeremy Corbyn?”

At a march, organised by the People’s Vote campaign, on the fringes of Labour’s annual conference in Liverpool, demonstrators chanted “bollocks to Brexit” and waved EU flags.

Addressing the crowds, the prominent Labour MP, David Lammy, said that a fresh EU vote must include the option to remain inside the bloc on the ballot paper.

“They are saying squarely to leadership of the Labour Party, ‘listen to us, hear us, give us a people’s vote,” he said. “Are you listening Jeremy Corbyn? Are you listening John McDonnell?”

Luciana Berger, the Labour MP for Liverpool Wavetree, was among those who joined the march in support of Labour members who want the conference to debate supporting a second vote – something that will be decided later on Sunday.

The rally came as the Labour leader said he would “act accordingly” if conference called for a fresh referendum and said that while had not called for it now, he had been elected to “empower” members and would not “walk away from it.”

Manuel Cortes, the general secretary of the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA), who was also at the march, said he was a “big supporter” of Mr Corbyn, and referring to any vote on the floor of the conference, added: “The one think I know about Jeremy is that he respects democracy.”

The economist Ann Pettifor, who has previously advised the shadow chancellor on economic policy, said it was a “historic moment” as she addressed those demanding a final say on Theresa May’s Brexit deal.

Ms Pettifor, who said she was “proudly” of the left, said she voted against joining the EU in 1975. “But this is 2018,” she added. “And when the facts change, I changed.”

The demand for the option of a fresh vote, including the option to remain in the EU from Mr Lammy, comes after Len McCluskey, the general secretary of Unite union, expressed the opposite view earlier the same day.

He said it would be "wrong" and would risk pushing Labour voter who had backed leave in the 2016 referendum to support the Conservatives.

Speaking to Pienaar’s Politics on BBC Radio 5Live, Mr McCluskey said: “The referendum shouldn’t be on, ‘do you want to go back in the European Union’.

“The people have already decided on that. We very rarely have referendums in this country, the people have decided against my wishes and my union’s wishes, but they have decided."

The Independent has launched its Final Say campaign for a People’s Vote on the terms of the Brexit deal, with more than 820,000 people having signed its petition so far.