Voters for Labour also wanted to stay in EU, says group

LABOUR will reap electoral rewards in Wales if the party moves to oppose Brexit, a leading pro-EU group has claimed as it publishes its latest research.

Best for Britain says its analysis shows that in every constituency held by a Welsh Labour MP a majority of the people who voted for them also backed Remain.

It claims that 437,606 people who voted Labour in 2017 backed staying in the EU in the Brexit referendum, with just 215,497 supporting Leave.

In contrast, it says that only 114,693 people who backed the Conservatives last year wanted the UK to stay in the EU, with 382,814 voting for Brexit.

Eloise Todd, the chief executive of Best for Britain, said: “These are the results of a massive research project that Best for Britain has undertaken. Our data shows that every single Labour MP in Wales has more Remain voters than Leave voters.

“There is an electoral dividend for Labour in Wales if they move position and oppose Brexit. Not only is it right for the country for the Labour party to do that, it’s also good for the Labour party.

“Doctors, nurses, students and many people across the country now want a people’s vote on the terms of Brexit and have the right to stay in the EU: it’s time for Labour to deliver that option.”

Even in a strongly pro-Brexit seat such as Blaenau Gwent, where more than six out of 10 people are understood to have voted to take the UK out of the EU, the analysis suggests 8,441 who backed Labour last year wanted to remain, compared with 7,638 who supported Leave.

Cardiff South and Penarth Labour MP Stephen Doughty – who wants the UK to stay in the single market and the customs union – said the findings, which are based on YouGov data, would affect the thinking of MPs.

He said: “From my own experiences of talking to Labour voters up and down the country, including in Wales, it is clear that even those who voted Leave are having serious doubts about the Government’s reckless hard Brexit strategy and that far more Labour voters voted Remain even in so-called Leave constituencies than was previously thought. I am getting a clear message from Labour party members, voters and trade unionists that they want to see Labour taking a strong position on Brexit, including debating the issue at our UK conference and taking a firm line on issues such as the single market and the customs union.

“With critical votes coming up in the Commons in the coming weeks, this crucial information about where Labour voters stand on these issues will undoubtedly affect the views of Labour MPs up and down the country.”

Cardiff Central Labour MP Jo Stevens said the figures showed her party did not need to be frightened of a soft stance on Brexit.

In her seat 16,774 Labour voters are said to have voted Remain with just 2,915 backing Brexit.

She said: “[Labour] voters generally across the country are favourable to remaining and so I don’t think we need to be fearful about a very soft Brexit or, my personal view, no Brexit at all.”

Shadow Brexit Secretary Keir Starmer has set out six tests that must be met for Labour to back a Brexit deal, and Ms Stevens doubts it will be possible for her party to support the UK Government.

She said: “I hope that we’ll continue our incremental move towards a soft Brexit but our six tests are very clear and have been for a long time and I can’t see at the moment how where [the Government] is trying to get to will satisfy those six tests which means we’ll vote against.”

When asked if she expects a general election following the defeat of key Government Brexit legislation, she said: “Never say never.”

The analysis suggests that Plaid Cymru voters were strongly – but by no means unanimously – in favour of the UK staying in the EU, with 91,464 backing Brexit and 62,665 supporting staying in the EU.

Similarly, a significant number of Green voters may have voted for Brexit – 1,249, compared with 3,065 who backed Remain.

Among Lib Dem voters, 54,099 are thought to have voted Remain in 2016, with 13,408 supporting Brexit.

The analysis suggests that of the 31,376 people in Wales last year who voted Ukip, 581 had supported keeping the UK in the EU in the previous year’s referendum.