School of Politics and International Relations

Most Labour members believe Corbyn should back second Brexit vote

2 January 2019

Labour members are significantly more opposed to Brexit than Jeremy Corbyn is, with 72 per cent of them thinking their leader should fully support a second referendum, according to a study of attitudes in the party. The study, part of the Party Members Project led by Professor Tim Bale of Queen Mary University of London, found that while Labour members still strongly supported their leader overall, they appear both distanced from his views on Brexit and, for some, sceptical about his motives on the subject. Professor Bale said that the findings “increase the pressure on Labour’s leader to get off the fence. If Jeremy Corbyn genuinely believes, as he has repeatedly claimed, that the Labour party’s policy should reflect the wishes of its members rather than just its leaders, then he arguably has a funny way of showing it – at least when it comes to Brexit.”
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