Ian Lavery hits out at ‘leftwing intellectuals’ for sniping at those who voted leave

Ian Lavery, the Labour party chairman, has hit out at a section of pro-remain campaigners for sneering at “ordinary people” with pro-Brexit views and sniping at those who want to see the results of the 2016 poll respected.

As Jeremy Corbyn faces intense pressure to back a “people’s vote” in the wake of the European elections, Lavery argued in an article for the Guardian that Labour would not win a general election “simply by fighting for the biggest share of the 48%”.

He said both sides needed to come together to fight the prospect of a no-deal Brexit being pushed by some of the Conservative leadership candidates who are competing to be the next prime minister.

Forget a second referendum, Labour should focus on bringing the country together | Ian Lavery Read more

“As someone who has opposed a so-called public vote, not least because parliament has no majority for it in principle and nobody has the faintest idea what we would actually put on the ballot, I have been doggedly attacked by certain sections of the party, as well as those on the outside,” he said.

“It does feel that a certain portion of ‘leftwing intellectuals’ are sneering at ordinary people and piling on those trying to convey the feelings of hundreds of thousands of Labour voters. Perhaps, in reflecting on the results, we should consider the effect all of this has had.”

Warning against a pro-remain position, he said: “We cannot win a general election by simply fighting for the biggest share of 48% and, while some polling data suggests more people left Labour for the Greens and the Lib Dems, it is equally concerning to see leakage to the Brexit party. Remember, we not only need to hold on to what we got in 2017, but we need to win over even more people.”

There are signs the Labour leadership is moving further towards backing a second referendum, with Corbyn saying he supports a public vote “on any deal”, although he would prefer a general election.

His position appears to be shifting after two of his closest allies, John McDonnell and Diane Abbott, publicly said they fully supported a second referendum.

Keir Starmer, the shadow Brexit secretary, and Emily Thornberry, the shadow foreign secretary, have also said they would back Labour arguing for a people’s vote.

Tom Watson, the deputy leader, has been been even more strident in his calls for the party to back a second referendum, saying he supports the idea of a ballot of all members or a special conference to immediately change policy.

However, a number of shadow cabinet ministers and Labour MPs representing leave-voting areas are fighting hard against a shift in policy.

Lavery, Jon Trickett, the shadow cabinet office minister, and Len McCluskey, the Unite general secretary, have all spoken out against a second referendum.

McCluskey has accused Watson of being an “ineffective Machiavelli” who is using the second referendum as an excuse to mount a coup against Corbyn – an allegation the deputy leader denies.