Irish Independent

Corbyn: I will be bound by party decision on second referendum

- Andrew Woodcock and David Hughes

JEREMY CORBYN will be “bound” by any vote at the party’s conference in Liverpool to support a second referendum on Brexit.

But the Labour leader made clear he still believes an early general election is the best way to resolve the political crisis over Britain’s withdrawal from the EU.

He said his party was ready to “put our case to parliament” for an early poll, in comments likely to fuel speculatio­n that Labour will table a vote of no confidence in Theresa May if talks with Brussels fail. Mr Corbyn was speaking as a poll found 86pc of Labour members think voters should have the final say on the outcome of Brexit negotiatio­ns, and 90pc would now vote to remain in the EU.

Pro-EU activists were staging a rally and march in Liverpool as the annual conference got under way, in a bid to pile pressure on the leadership to back a so-called ‘People’s Vote’.

Many activists believe, with Mrs May’s plans in disarray following the rejection of her Chequers proposals by EU leaders in Salzburg, the time is now right for Labour to call for a fresh ballot. Mr Corbyn confirmed there will be a vote on the party’s Brexit stance during the four-day conference.

But it remains unclear whether the terms of any motion will enable delegates to commit Labour to a referendum.

Asked whether he would feel obliged to respect a vote by delegates demanding a second referendum, Mr Corbyn told BBC1’s ‘Andrew Marr Show’: “Let’s see what comes out of conference. Obviously I’m bound by the democracy of our party.

“There will be a clear vote in the conference. I don’t know

86pc think voters should have the final say on Brexit deal

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