Anger as Corbyn faces down calls for Labour to back new Brexit vote

In a move that sparked an immediate backlash among remain-supporters, Labour’s ruling national executive committee (NEC), announced that its manifesto for the election would be “fully in line” with its longstanding policy. That means continuing to support “Labour’s alternative plan” for Brexit – “and if we can’t get the necessary changes to the government’s deal, or a general election, to back the option of a public vote”, a Labour source said. The wording falls well short of the position set out recently by Watson, and by the shadow Brexit secretary, Keir Starmer, who told the House of Commons in April: “At this late stage it is clear that any Brexit deal agreed in this parliament will need further democratic approval.” Some Labour MPs reacted with fury to the NEC’s decision. Bridget Phillipson, who represents Houghton & Sunderland South, speaking for the People’s Vote campaign, said: “The manifesto’s mealy-mouthed wording still maintains the fiction that there is a deal out there that can satisfy all the promises made three years ago, avoid real costs to jobs and living standards, or end the endless crisis around Brexit.