Labour MPs pledge to bring back confirmatory vote amendment if Boris Johnson forces through a Brexit deal

Prime minister Boris Johnson during the visit to a primary school. Photograph: Toby Melville/PA. - Credit: PA Wire/PA Images

Labour MPs Peter Kyle and Phil Wilson are planning to bring back their amendment for a confirmatory referendum if Boris Johnson tries to force through a Brexit deal next month.

When first proposed as an amendment to Theresa May’s Brexit withdrawal agreement, it gathered the full support of all opposition parties including the front bench of the Labour Party, as well as from a number of Conservative backbenchers. In the indicative votes process in parliament, it gained 280 votes – more than any other proposal.

With the Labour Party now promising unequivocal support for a People’s Vote on any Brexit outcome, a new Kyle-Wilson amendment looks increasingly like a viable compromise to break the Brexit deadlock and provide the clarity needed by the whole country.

The pair of MPs are set to announce their intention to bring back their amendment as part of Saturday’s People’s Vote rally in Brighton.

“Brexit has paralysed our politics for far too long. The best way to solve this crisis is to give the public the final say,” Peter Kyle said. “That’s why my colleague Phil Wilson and I are announcing that we’re renewing our efforts to secure a parliamentary majority for the best compromise solution – by which any Brexit outcome is subject to a confirmatory referendum, allowing the people to give their consent to a specific version of Brexit, or instead to decide they’d rather stay in the EU.

“Our proposal secured the most votes of any in the previous indicative votes process in parliament, whilst falling short of a majority. But the Brexit crisis has moved on since then, and now all opposition parties support a confirmatory referendum as a solution, as do a large and growing number of Conservative and Independent MPs, including several former ministers.

“No one can trust Boris Johnson to solve this Brexit crisis either with No Deal or a Deal. If he tries to force his vision for a destructive Brexit through Parliament, we will make seek to amend it so that it can only proceed if the people get the chance to have the final say.”

“If Boris Johnson is so confident that his version of Brexit is what the people want, he should have the confidence of his convictions and let the people be the ones to decide,” added Phil Wilson. “A confirmatory referendum also has the advantage over other democratic solutions because it would provide a clear answer to the Brexit question. A general election, for example, runs the risk of confusing the issue further and merely prolonging the crisis. Holding a confirmatory referendum will answer the question once and for all – where do the public want the country to go on Brexit?

“Once that question is decisively answered, our country can finally move on from Brexit and start to deal with the many other pressing issues we face, like climate change, industrial strategy, education, crime and healthcare. A confirmatory referendum on Brexit is the only way to deliver a lasting and stable conclusion to this crisis, once and for all.”