LABOUR will back a fresh referendum on Brexit to try and overturn the result within six months, a peer has predicted.

Lord Adonis also praised the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn for "offering hope and optimism" at a time where no one else is, but said he's not a potential prime minister.

3 Jeremy Corbyn's party will open the door for a referendum to keep us in Europe, a peer has predicted Credit: Alamy Live News

In an interview with the New Statesman, the former education minister said he thinks that the Labour party will offer voters a chance to stop Brexit.

Despite the 17 million people who opted to quit the EU just last year, he insists that there needs to be another vote on the exit terms.

He said: "It’s quite wrong to think of this as a second referendum. This will be a first referendum on the exit terms.

"And since this is the most important issue facing the country, it’s perfectly reasonable".

Lord Adonis, who used to be director of the No 10 Policy Unit, said that the party has already embraced a meaningful transitional period while we gear up to leave.

He went on: "Once Labour’s in favour, it’s only a matter of time before the government has to concede…

"I would be very surprised if we’re not committed to a referendum on the exit terms within six months."

Most Labour activists want a second EU referendum, polling said over the summer - but the move will cause fury among Leave voters in Labour constituencies and Brexit-backing MPs.

3 Labour's Andrew Adonis has also hit out at university fat-cats for their excessive salaries Credit: Rex Features

MOST READ IN POLITICS COVID CLAMPDOWN PM unveils huge £10k fines for Brits who break covid self-isolation rules SHORT SHARP LOCK Pubs & restaurants could shut completely within days in two-week lockdown Latest ON THE BRINK England faces lockdown in days as cases double and Nightingale ward on standby Exclusive CARROT AND STICK Workers told to isolate with Covid symptoms will be given cash lump sum Exclusive BORDER FARCE Fifty 'boomerang' migrants given right to stay despite being deported before Exclusive TEST CADETS Teenage school-leavers are being put to work in Covid-19 labs to end test chaos Latest TYNE UP North East WILL lock down at midnight with curfew & ban on friends & family visits Latest NEW YEAR'S LEAVE Sadiq Khan CANCELS London New Year fireworks because of coronavirus RAPID RETURN Priti plans weekly flights to take Channel migrants back to France & Germany BACK TO WORK 1m workers returned to jobs part-time in July with flexible furlough scheme

3 Labour could try and force the government to hold a fresh vote on our exit terms, he said Credit: Reuters

And he name-checked the former PM, too, saying: "The thing I only always learned from Tony [Blair] is ‘get the policy right and the politics will follow’. The right policy is a referendum on the exit terms, the politics will sort itself out."

The Labour peer has been increasingly outspoken in recent months, taking time to hit out at university fat-cats and school chiefs, and saying he hopes that institutions will slash their fees in future.

He also used the interview to heap praise on the Labour leader, saying he was the only one "offering hope and optimism".

But he still doesn't think he's electable, saying he is "not a potential prime minister".

"The voters have already had a chance to make a judgement on him, they're not going to change their view in a few years' time."

He went on: "If Jeremy goes into another election, he will lose it.

“What the Labour Party should now be doing is looking for a leader who can credibly become prime minister. We need an open contest because I can see five or six potential ones."