The Labour Group on Hounslow Council has voted to support a motion calling for a People’s Vote on the final Brexit deal on the eve of the Labour Party conference.
The 50-strong ruling Labour Group joins neighbouring Richmond upon Thames Council in formally supporting the People’s Vote campaign.
It will write to both Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn urging them to support a referendum on the final Brexit deal or no deal.
The group – among of the largest of all the London Borough councils – has become the latest in a growing chorus of voices within the Labour Party calling for a People’s Vote, including Sadiq Khan and over 100 Constituency Labour Parties.
It will heap pressure on Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn just days from a party conference at which Brexit is set to be the most popular item on the agenda.
Cllr Salman Shaheen, Chair of the Labour Group on Hounslow Council, said: “The Labour conference commences in Liverpool this week and already we know that the defining issue will be Brexit. Over 100 CLPs, including my own, Brentford & Isleworth, have submitted motions to conference calling for a People’s Vote. And with almost 80% of Labour members supporting a People’s Vote, I believe it is highly likely that conference will back a referendum on the final deal.
“That’s because Brexit will be a disaster for the working-class people our party was founded to represent. They are the ones whose rights will be ripped up by any deal the government negotiates and they deserve a say on that. Hounslow Council has already had to make heartbreaking decisions to cope with central government slashing our budget. No more. We cannot afford the devastation that further cuts brought about by a Conservative Brexit will bring to our communities.
“Jeremy Corbyn has always been on the right side of history and at conference he has a chance to show it again. As the true consequences of Tory Brexit become clear, I hope he will see the wisdom in giving the people a chance to turn away from the cliff the government is walking us towards.”
