Labour cannot wait until the party’s conference in autumn before backing a second Brexit referendum, Sadiq Khan has suggested.
The London Mayor appeared to break with the official party line by insisting Labour “needs to provide clarity” of its Brexit position, after being asked by HuffPost UK if the party could wait to let members decide.
It comes after shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry rowed back on comments made following Labour’s European elections drubbing in which she insisted the party should have campaigned on backing Remain in a second referendum.
Thornberry has since softened her stance and fallen in line with Jeremy Corbyn’s position, admitting Labour’s backing of a so-called People’s Vote may be “a long way off”.
But Khan insisted it was time for the public to have a say on accepting Theresa May’s withdrawal agreement, which has been rejected by the Commons three times, or staying in the EU.
There is a growing sense of urgency with the Tories set to elect a new leader by summer parliamentary recess at the end of July who could back a no-deal Brexit.
Frontrunner Boris Johnson and several rivals have said they will ensure UK will leave the EU on October 31 - the new, delayed exit day - whether or not they can renegotiate May’s deal, which Brussels is currently refusing to do.
Asked if Labour needs to back a second referendum now and not wait until party conference, when members are likely to force it to do so, Khan told HuffPost UK: “I’ve been clear for quite some time now.
“Parliament is in gridlock, I think it’s quite clear that parliament can’t reach a conclusion that the majority of MPs can agree with, so there are pragmatic reasons now for giving the British public a say to break the gridlock but also so the British public can decide whether they accept the deal negotiated by the government which is a million miles away from what was promised three years ago, or the option of the staying in the EU.
“I think the Labour Party needs to provide clarity of our position.
“In my view that should be giving the British public a say for the first time on accepting the deal negotiated by the government with the option of staying in the EU.”
Within minutes of the European polls closing on Sunday May 26, Thornberry made a major move to toughen the party’s line, saying Labour should have backed a confirmatory referendum on May’s deal and that it would campaign to Remain.
“It may be a long way off”
- Shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry on a second Brexit referendum
Corbyn has since been ambiguous on the issue but all signs are pointing to Labour eventually backing a so-called People’s Vote.
On Tuesday, Thornberry softened her stance.
She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Jeremy has said, hasn’t he, that we have got ourselves into such a place that it is very difficult to know how it is that we get forward and that we need to go back to the people, whether that’s in a general election or another referendum.
“It may be a long way off, we have got to get through another election campaign for the Tories and that’s going to take most of the summer and they have to work out what on Earth they are going to do and how they are going to move this agenda forwards.
“So yes, it seems to be quite a long way off.
“And then once a decision, which I suspect will eventually need to be made - we’ll either need to call a general election or we will need to have another referendum, we need to go back to the public and ask for their good sense.
“Therefore it’s likely to be quite a long way off.”