Keir Starmer should apologise for trying to stop Brexit, MPs say

Report on how Labour can win again warns leader not to ‘bury under the carpet his role in Brexit’

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer was among the first UK politicians to congratulate Joe Biden (EPA)

Keir Starmer should apologise for trying to stop Brexit in order to win back Leave voters in Labour's former heartland, a group of his MPs have said.

A new report drawn up by left-leaning MPs Jon Trickett, Ian Lavery, and Laura Smith says voters "do not trust the party" that put its "liberalism about democracy" in advocating a second referendum.

An apology is required for Labour to "put aside the constitutional issues that have ripped [the UK] apart," the former frontbenchers argue.

The report also criticises Labour's 2019 manifesto, which it describes as "confused", without a narrative that "threaded the policies together".

In order to win the party must have policies that are both "radical and coherent" and that also go further than the previous 2017 manifesto to present "a real economic alternative", they say.

The trio of former frontbenchers also say Labour should introduce "working class quotas" for MP selections to rebuild its credibility, and to establish new leaderships at a local level.

These leadership should stop the practice of "parachuting political professionals the into working class communities that they have no connection" to, they say.

The MPs also suggest policies such as a new cronyism watchdog to take the fight to the Tories, and an "outsourcing tax" to recoup public money wasted on private contractors during the Covid pandemic.

A "Covid profiteering tax" could also redistribute from multinational firms like Amazon that have done well out of the pandemic, to support local businesses that has suffered, they say.

But it is on Brexit and the legacy of Labour's 2019 manifesto pledge to hold another referendum that the MPs have the staunchest recommendations.

"Sir Keir has a big task ahead of him. As we stated earlier, Brexit voters in our former heartlands still do not trust the Party that took their votes for granted," the report argues

"Although it was a long time coming, we think that the first step in trying to win back trust is for the Party to apologise. Ultimately, we put liberalism above democracy and that cannot be allowed to happen again."

The report, called The Challenge for Labour, adds that "Leave voters were too often sneered at", while emain voters were "led up the garden path with a position – of overturning the referendum result – that was never seriously achievable".

"By doing both some senior members of our Party polarised the electorate, with some even suggesting that Labour was remain or it was nothing. To put this aside, leavers and remainers need an apology."

They call for a "full-throated apology from Labour to the people for ignoring the democratic principle for which the labour movement has fought for centuries and for treating both sides of the debate with contempt".

The trio say that Sir Keir should not "bury under the carpet his role in Brexit", arguing that "it will come back to bite him and Labour".

The Labour leader was shadow Brexit Secretary under Jeremy Corbyn. Since rising to the top of his party, Sir Keir has de-emphasised his previous Brexit stance, declining to call for the extension of the transition period and shying away from any interventions on trade negotiations.