Jeremy Corbyn and his allies today insisted they have not completely ruled out a second Brexit referendum as they scramble to stop Labour imploding.
The party’s civil war has escalated dramatically after the Labour leader tried to outflank Theresa May by offering to support a Norway-style deal with the EU.
Mr Corbyn tried to woo Tory rebels by dropping his notorious ‘six tests’ which demanded that any agreement had ‘the exact same benefits’ as EU membership.
But the move infuriated Labour Remainers, who accused him of ‘enabling’ Brexit – with some even threatening to quit the party.
Mr Corbyn’s letter made no mention of the idea of a second referendum. Shadow Brexit minister Matthew Pennycook was then slapped down by the leadership after he suggested the party would back another public vote if Mr Corbyn’s offer was rejected by the PM.
Jeremy Corbyn (pictured writing his letter this week) and his allies today insisted they have not completely ruled out a second Brexit referendum as they scramble to stop Labour imploding
The grand gesture (pictured) is intended to show voters Mr Corbyn is ready to compromise, while heaping pressure on Mrs May to break her key red lines.
In an effort to quell the mutiny, senior Labour officials circulated a message to MPs last night insisting a referendum had not been ruled out.
And shadow chancellor John McDonnell said in a round of interviews today: ‘The possibility, the option of another public vote is still on the table as we agreed.’
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘In the national interest we have got to come together to secure a compromise, and then if we can’t do that, well yes, we have to go back to the people.’
An amendment table by Labour in crunch Commons votes last week called for a referendum to be kept on the table – but only after MPs pass a deal.
Mr Corbyn’s own Eurosceptic credentials have also been highlighted by a 2009 video showing him condemning the ‘European empire’ and complaining that referendums should not be re-run.
Former leadership contender Owen Smith suggested he would quit the party if Mr Corbyn works with Mrs May to deliver Brexit in any form.
Asked if he could remain in the party if Labour backed a Tory Brexit deal, Mr Smith told BBC Radio Five: ‘I think that’s a very good question – and I think it’s something that I and lots of other people are considering right now.’ Mr Smith described Mr Corbyn’s stance as a ‘betrayal’, adding: ‘The truth is, we’ve got a leadership that is essentially pursing a sort of warmed-over, 1970s, Bennite view of the European Union.
‘Jeremy Corbyn has always subscribed to those views. And he is now effectively trying to acquiesce in Brexit, because ultimately he believes that Brexit will be good for our country. I think he’s wrong about that.’
Chuka Umunna, another former Labour frontbencher, reacted angrily to Mr Corbyn’s intervention, describing it as ‘totally demoralising’.
He added: ‘This is not opposition, it is the facilitation of a deal which will make this country poorer. A strong, coherent Labour alternative to this shabby, Tory Brexit is absent – it has been since this Parliament began.’
Former shadow chancellor Chris Leslie, who is pushing for a second referendum, accused Mr Corbyn of ‘offering to help a Tory government enable Brexit.’
Senior EU figures also seized on Mr Corbyn’s intervention as evidence that the UK could be pushed into accepting a soft Brexit.
EU president Donald Tusk twisted the knife yesterday by telling Mrs May that Jeremy Corbyn’s plan for a soft Brexit could be a ‘promising way out of the current impasse’.
During tense talks in Brussels, Mr Tusk is said to have urged her to consider a cross-party compromise based around permanent membership of the customs union.
An EU source confirmed Mr Tusk had suggested Mr Corbyn’s plan was a ‘promising way out of the impasse.’ Joining a customs union would breach one of Mrs May’s negotiating red lines and end the dream of striking post-Brexit trade deals. Conservative chairman Brandon lewis has also warned Mrs May that siding with Labour on the issue would split the party.
Mrs May had a series of awkward encounters with EU chiefs including Jean-Claude Juncker (pictured) in Brussels yesterday
Whitehall sources said Mrs May urged Mr Tusk to look at the infighting Mr Corbyn’s plan had sparked within the Labour Party. One source said: ‘It’s clear from the reaction Corbyn’s letter has provoked that he could not deliver his party on it.’
To the alarm of ministers, Mr Corbyn’s plan attracted some support from Tory MPs backing a soft Brexit.
Mr Boles said: ‘This takes us a big step forward to a cross-party compromise.’ Sir Oliver, another supporter of a Norway-style deal, said on Twitter: ‘Hope No 10 has noticed Labour’s official support for something strikingly like Common Market 2.0/Norway Plus. This is where a cross party consensus can be formed if PM’s deal fails.’
Both men were involved in cross-party efforts last week to allow parliament to seize control of the Brexit process and extend Article 50.
The attempt was defeated, but MPs will get another chance to take control on February 14 when Mrs May has pledged to allow a series of votes on options for the way forward.
One ally of Mrs May last night predicted that a cross-party bid to delay Brexit would come back next week ‘but this time with a customs union attached.’
Shadow attorney general Shami Chakrabarti suggested Labour could allow free movement to continue, saying: ‘We are not an anti-immigration party. If we have to negotiate on free movement in order to get the objectives set out in that letter that is what we will do.’ The move has worried some allies of the PM, who fear that it could attract the support of enough pro-EU Tories to get majority support in the Commons.