Shami Chakrabarti provoked a snigger among the audience as she struggled to clarify the latest development in Labour’s Brexit strategy. During a crunch meeting to vote on the party’s European election manifesto, Labour agreed to support a second referendum if the Government fails to change their proposed Brexit withdrawal agreement. After her party was accused of remaining stuck in a position “of fudge”, Baroness Chakrabarti attempted to better explain the plans the Labour Party has been promoting but caused member of the audience to react rather sarcastically. 

The shadow Attorney General said: “I believe we could have a more equal country, and an internationalist country that works very closely with our European neighbours and the rest of the world inside the European Union, or outside but very close to the European Union.”

Her explanation had some members of the audience to snigger, while a man can seemingly be heard murmuring “for God’s sake” in the distance.

The Labour peer continued: “Well, laugh but it’s all very well to say we can have no deal but no deal is a black hole.

“It’s very easy to say you are leaving but where do you think you are going to? The problem is that so many people who campaigned to leave were selling unicorns.

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“You can leave, you can have everything you want but there was no plan. Now Parliament is left trying to agree a plan.”

She also insisted the best solution to put an end to the impasse gripping Parliament would be a new public vote on the proposed deal: “If we cannot break this deadlock in the House of Commons anytime soon, there will have to be a referendum to break that deadlock.”

Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn have been engaged in talks since the Prime Minister agreed to a further extension of the Brexit deadline until October 31. The cross-party negotiation is aimed at finding common ground to pass a divorce deal through the Commons before the EU parliamentary election of May 23.

BuzzFeed News reported that several government sources said they believe a deal will be struck with Labour but are unsure about when this will happen.

The deal will include a customs arrangement in line with the World Trade Organisation’s rules and “dynamic alignment” on workers’ rights, which will follow laws laid down in Brussels after Brexit.

Mrs May’s team are said to be worried Mr Corbyn will prolong the discussions beyond the May 23 elections in order to injure the Tories at the ballot box.

The Prime Minister is said to believe the Labour leader’s plan is aimed at avoiding his party being “punished” by voters in the Euros because of the Brexit deal with the Conservative Government.

In addition to facing increasing pressure to deliver on a deal before the European election of May 23, Theresa May also has had to contend with disastrous results at the local elections.

The Conservative Party lost 1,334 councilors and 44 councils all together in what is believed to be a signal of discontent from voters fed up with the Brexit process.

According to political polling expert Colin Rallings, the local elections are the “calm before the storm” of the European Parliament elections at the end of May. Professor Rallings predicted a wipe-out for the Westminster establishment at the ballot box, with voters expected to deliver a resounding victory to Nigel Farage’s new Brexit Party.

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