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The People's Vote campaign has today given up pushing for a second referendum after Boris Johnson's thumping election victory.

The group - which was riven by vicious infighting, a public split and staff exodus weeks before the election vote - will now "refocus" on "vital social issues" to prioritise in Brexit talks, a spokesman said.

It is a concession that a second referendum is no longer possible after the Conservatives won an 80-seat majority in the general election .

It means Boris Johnson is now all but guaranteed to enact his Withdrawal Agreement by January 31 next year.

Campaign Director Stuart Hand said: "The People’s Vote will now refocus its campaign to concentrate on vital social issues that this government must urgently prioritise in its Brexit negotiations.

"We will remain a grassroots campaigning group who will act on issues of social inequality.

(Image: Jonathan Buckmaster)

"We will put pressure on the government to stop them sacrificing opportunities for the poor and vulnerable, removing citizens’ rights, undermining the NHS and reducing job security in pursuit of a destructive Brexit driven by a hard-right minority.

"We urge the government to avoid a hard Brexit that will be a disaster for our country and instead work with our European partners to get the fair deal that British people deserve."

Boris Johnson today said he wanted to "let the healing begin" as he reached out to Remainers in a Downing Street speech.

But hours earlier he told a victory rally a second referendum was dead and Remain protesters should now "put a sock in it".

The campaign for a second Brexit referendum had organised mass marches in favour of a final say on the Tory deal.

(Image: Chris Furlong)

Yet it was left in open warfare in October after staff staged a walkout over the sacking of two top chiefs.

People's Vote chairman Roland Rudd announced director of communications Tom Baldwin and executive director James McGrory would be "leaving the organisation with immediate effect" in a late-night email on Sunday.

Dozens of other staff walked out in protest and set up a separate "Final Say" campaign.

(Image: REUTERS)

Speaking to the Mirror today, Mr Baldwin indicated the other campaign would also fold, saying it was a "pop-up campaign for the course of the election" which wasn't intended to be long-term.

He said: "The truth now is Boris Johnson has got a Parliamentary majority to do whatever he wants, even though there is still, in my view, no majority in the country for his hard an destructive form of Brexit.

"It now appears that for all the marches, donations and letter writing that took place, the People's Vote campaign will not succeed.

"The actions of Roland Rudd and his boardroom coup six weeks ago effectively disabled the campaign anyway at the time a general election was going to be called. We would have been the biggest player on the pitch."