Among 71 MPs signing up, six said to be backing ‘people’s vote’ for first time

Half a dozen Labour MPs came out in support of a second referendum for the first time at a Westminster photocall, arguing it was the “the only logical option” if the party could not secure a general election.

The timing of the demand, a couple of hours before Jeremy Corbyn was due to open the no-confidence debate, irritated the party’s leadership, who said afterwards that another national poll was “not the default option” if the Commons vote was lost.

Debbie Abrahams and Lilian Greenwood, both former frontbenchers, were among 71 MPs who signed a statement saying the party must back a second referendum hours before Corbyn was due to move a vote of no confidence.

The statement said: “We must try and remove this government from office as soon as possible.” However, it added: “But the removal of the government and pushing for a general election may prove impossible.”

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In that situation, the MPs called on Labour to “join trade unions, our members and a majority of our constituents by then unequivocally backing the only logical option to help our country move forward: putting the decision back to the people for a final say, in a public vote, with the option to stay and keep the deal that we have”.

But in response, Corbyn’s spokesman said in a briefing that a second referendum was “not the default option”. When asked if the MPs’ actions were a distraction, he added: “Right now the priority is to bring about a general election; we’ve got a no-confidence motion down today.”

Frustration about the timing of the MPs’ actions – some of whom want Labour to move within days to supporting a second referendum – spilled into the open when Joe Bradley, a member of staff in the leader’s office, tweeted: “Not one of these MPs cares about removing a Tory government,” in response to a picture of the photocall.

Bradley, who is responsible for trade union and NEC relations, deleted his Twitter account, and Corbyn’s office said it did not comment on staffing matters.

Other MPs who had not previously declared their support for another referendum included John Grogan, Graham Jones, Stephen Morgan and Matt Western, according to the organisers of the statement released on Wednesday morning.

Dan Sabbagh (@dansabbagh) Labour MPs signing this morning's statement...71 pic.twitter.com/UkfwVkjzTR

Few expect Labour to win the vote of no confidence, given that the DUP has said it will support May’s minority government. That has prompted growing pressure for the party to back a second referendum, despite the reservations of the party’s leadership.

Labour’s repeatedly stated policy was to press for an election after May’s deal had been voted down, but then to consider a second referendum as an option if no election could be secured.

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But in his speeches in Tuesday night’s Brexit debate, Corbyn made no reference to a second referendum and his spokesman said the party would consider demanding more than a confidence vote before accepting that it could not force a general election.

Stephen Doughty, one of the organisers of the declaration, said the MPs were “supporting the confidence vote – we want to get rid of the Tory government” but called on the party to act soon.

The MP refused to give Corbyn a timescale, saying the leadership had “good reasons” for taking its time. But he added: “The clock is ticking, therefore we have to move forward, because it’s jobs, it’s investments, it’s our public services that are at risk.”

Other Labour sources closer to the party’s leadership said there were only a handful of MPs who had supported a fresh referendum for the first time, and noted that the number who signed the declaration was well below the 100 figure that had been touted earlier.

The organisers of the letter said there were a further 24 Labour MPs who supported a second referendum who had not signed the statement for administrative reasons, or because their position was already well known.

Other Labour MPs called on Corbyn to act more quickly if the confidence vote was defeated. Bridget Phillipson said: “In the event we don’t succeed in securing a general election we should commit immediately to going back to the people in a fresh referendum.”