Jeremy Corbyn will tell Labour MPs tonight that the party will back a public vote on Brexit. This is the first sign of how The Independent Group has changed the political weather; it is hard to imagine Corbyn accepting this policy without the threat of more defections.
Now, we wait to see the details of this policy and whether Labour is going to back a second referendum with Remain on the ballot. But if this is the shift, it is significant. In the 2017 election, Corbyn managed — to my surprise, and with some political skill — to successfully straddle the Leave / Remain divide. This decision will make that more difficult. But there is some talk in Westminster this evening that Labour’s eventual position will be to campaign for its Brexit deal in a referendum. Indeed, the speculation is that the choice Labour wants in a referendum is between its Brexit deal and Remain.
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