LABOUR should back a second referendum on Brexit if its members want one, Tom Watson has insisted.
The comments from the party’s deputy leader came as a new poll found 86 per cent of Labour members thought voters should have the final say on the outcome of Brexit negotiations while 90 per cent said they would now vote to remain in the EU.
While Labour has never taken the option of a second referendum off the table, Jeremy Corbyn has made clear he would prefer the issue to be resolved through a general election.
Plans have been discussed within the party for a Commons vote of no confidence in Theresa May to try to force an election if the Prime Minister failed to get her Brexit plan through Westminster later this autumn.
Mr Corbyn is set to face intense pressure at the party's annual conference in Liverpool to commit Labour to a second referendum.
MPs and union leaders are expected to join a march on the opening day of the conference on Sunday to demand a so-called "People's Vote".
And more than 100 constituency parties have submitted motions calling for the issue to be put to a vote.
Many activists believe that 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 throw its weight behind a fresh ballot.
The YouGov survey for The Observer of more than 1,000 Labour members found 86 per cent supported a referendum on the outcome of Brexit talks against just eight per cent who opposed it.
Even in the North and Midlands, where many Labour constituencies voted Leave in 2016, there was overwhelming support – 86 per and 88 per cent respectively - for a second vote.
Some 81 per cent believed their standard of living would get worse after Brexit and 89 per cent said it would be bad for jobs.
Mr Watson said: "Jeremy and I were elected in 2015 to give the Labour Party back to its members.
"So if the people's party decide they want the people to have a final say on the deal, we have to respect the view of our members and we will go out and argue for it."
However, John McDonnell warned on Saturday that a second referendum could stoke racial tensions and far-right populism.
"I really worry about another referendum," explained the Shadow Chancellor. "I'm desperately trying to avoid any rise of xenophobia that happened last time around, I'm desperately trying to avoid giving any opportunity to Ukip or the far-right. There's the real risk of that.
"We're not ruling out a people's vote, but there's a real risk, and I think people need to take that into account when we're arguing for one," he added.
Meanwhile, David Miliband, the former Foreign Secretary, said it was an "absolute dereliction of duty" for Labour not to say that the final Brexit deal obtained by the PM must be put to the people.
Mr Corbyn told an eve-of-conference rally in Liverpool: "If this Government can't deliver, then I say to Theresa May the best way to settle this is to have a general election."
The rally was punctuated by cries of "stop Brexit" from the audience but most speakers steered clear of the topic, ahead of a conference which Labour wants to focus on housing and workplace rights.
YouGov interviewed 1,054 Labour members between September 13 and 18.
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