It says much about our politicians’ view of the collapse of public faith in politics that fear of democracy is now at the heart of the Brexit debate. “Can we have a referendum on the outcome of the negotiations?” ask the public in their millions. “No,” wail ministers. “Leave it to us. We’ll sort it.”

And their clinching argument against another referendum is: “There isn’t time, because to get that time we would have to commit to hold EU elections.” We can’t have a vote because it would mean having a vote. That’s it.

This fear of democracy is felt in both main parties. But why is anyone who backs a People’s Vote scared of European elections in which the public would surely be as energised as they are for a general election? Some suggest only an election can resolve the crisis. I am not convinced. Both big parties have struggled to agree a Brexit policy on which leaders and members can campaign.

Brexit is now so defining, so dominant in our politics that it is too big just to be wrapped up with everything else. So what would a general election achieve unless there were absolute clarity of choice between the two main parties?

There’s an elephant in the room which I hesitate to raise: Jeremy Corbyn. I spend a lot of my time in the North. At a fundraising dinner in Macclesfield on Friday the Q&A inevitably got on to Brexit. I asked who thought Brexit was going well. No one. I asked who thought Theresa May was doing an OK job. Three hands went up. I asked who thought Corbyn should be PM. Three other hands went up amid, I regret to report, laughter.

Some around the leadership blame Corbyn’s ratings on a hostile media and the loss of working-class voters who fear Labour is trying to take Brexit away from them. I wish that were so. On the contrary, I think Corbyn is doing his best to make Brexit happen. Also, a People’s Vote poll of Labour heartlands showed that Labour voters in the North back a second referendum by three to one. The main reason Labour is doing so badly — and there is not an MP or candidate who is unaware of this — is the Corbyn factor. Like it or not, Labour must accept that the public have decided he is not a prime minister.

Nor, we have learned to our cost, is Theresa May. But she’s not standing again, so nobody should underestimate the boost the Tories could get under a new leader with a new Brexit strategy.

European elections would offer a very different context to that of a general election. We are not electing a Prime Minister. I must be honest about this: I have voted Labour in every election of my life but if I thought my vote was the difference between Corbyn being PM or not, I would find the pencil hovering. But at the European elections, provided Labour stands on a clear commitment to campaign for a People’s Vote on the outcome of the Brexit process, with the right to opt for Remain, I would not hesitate to back it. These elections can be Labour’s friend, not its enemy.