May slaps down Blair Corbyn now set to support People’s Vote after pressure from McDonnell
THERESA May launched an astonishing attack on former Labour premier Tony Blair last night, as she said moves for a second referendum were “an insult to the British people”.
The Prime Minister’s comments came as insiders said Labour was on the verge of backing a so-called People’s Vote, with shadow chancellor John McDonnell leading a push to force Jeremy Corbyn to agree.
Sources in the Cabinet have also confirmed that there is a faction of Remainers pushing Mrs May to support a second referendum.
The potential betrayal of Leave voters in Labour heartlands comes as the Prime Minister lashed out at Mr Blair over his attempts to undermine efforts to get a good deal with Brussels by holding parallel talks with the European Commission.
Mr Blair is at the heart of the People’s Vote campaign run by Tory, Labour and Lib Dem Remainers, which is aimed at trying to force voters to change their minds.
Mrs May said: “There are too many people who want to subvert the process for their own political interests rather than acting in the national interest.
“For Tony Blair to go to Brussels and seek to undermine our negotiations by advocating for a second referendum is an insult to the office he once held and the people he once served.
“We cannot, as he would, abdicate responsibility for this decision.
“Parliament has a democratic duty to deliver what the British people voted for. I remain determined to see that happen. I will not let the British people down.”
Until now, the Labour leadership has opposed a second referendum, saying it should be an option only if they cannot have a general election.
But a majority of Labour MPs now back a second vote on the EU, with several describing Mr Corbyn as “the only obstacle” to another referen-
BEHIND OUR BACKS: Mrs May is furious at Tony Blair for holding parallel talks with European Commission
dum. The Labour leader faced a “difficult meeting” of the Parliamentary Labour Party earlier last week, where he was pressurised to change policy.
One Labour MP said: “We don’t have a manifesto, I represent a leave voting constituency and you’re asking me to defend my seat without any policies.
“A second referendum or People’s Vote, or whatever it’s called, is much simpler.”
Another said: “John McDonnell is pressing for a second referendum and I think there is going to be a change of policy in the leadership.”
And another MP added: “It’s now a matter of when we back a second referendum, not if.”
The pressure was coming from MPs who have been loyal to Mr Corbyn as well as “the usual suspects” of Blairites, including Chuka Umunna, who are involved with the People’s Vote campaign. Meanwhile, a leading Tory MP in the People’s Vote campaign said he was “confident” Labour was about to change policy.
The MP said: “The current expectation is that Labour would whip to support it.”
Remainers hope to amend a “meaningful vote” on the deal to hold a referendum, or for the Government to be forced to bring a referendum forward, despite the Prime Minister’s opposition.
A source close to Mr Corbyn said last night: “Our policy is that a second referendum is an option, among others, if we can’t get a general election.” Meanwhile, senior sources have told the Sunday Express that members of Mrs May’s Cabinet are also actively plotting to push Britain towards a second referendum.
A Cabinet minister said privately that the vote of confidence by MPs last week, where 117 failed to back the Prime Minister, meant that “her deal is dead”.
The minister said: “We have told the Prime Minister that it is impossible to persuade more than 100 Conservative MPs – forget about the 10 DUP MPs – to back the deal. We are not talking about 20 nutters but a significant part of the party.”
The minister also said colleagues were pressing Mrs May to hold a series of non-binding indicative votes on different options to “test the views” of Parliament on the Turkey option of staying in the customs union, Norway’s strategy of staying in the single market with free movement, or a “managed no deal”.
However in a boost to Mrs May, an Opinium Reseach poll revealed that 47 per cent of voters now view her as someone brave who sticks to her principles, her highest standing since 2016. It also showed the Tories had climbed two points to 38 per cent.
It is understood that senior ministers, including Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd and Chancellor Philip Hammond, want a second referendum if none of the solutions can be agreed.
But one Cabinet minister opposed to another vote said: “There is a reason John McDonnell now supports a second referendum. He is a tactician and he knows that it will destroy the Conservative Party. We will have blue on blue and tear ourselves apart for a vote which will probably resolve nothing in the country and is likely to make things much worse.”
Yesterday Ms Rudd, a leading fRemain campaign figure, hinted at support for a second referendum. She said a “practical, sensible and healing approach” was needed for MPs to back a deal to avert the danger of Britain crashing out of the EU.
Downing Street sources said the Prime Minister was going to continue leading negotiations to obtain clarification on the time-limited nature of the Northern Ireland backstop.
Mrs May and Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt are hosting a meeting of the 27 EU state ambassadors. AndJonathan Jones, the UK’s senior law officer, will be in Brussels to secure assurances on the backstop.
‘For former PM to go to Brussels is an insult to people’