General election 2019: Labour must 'work harder to sell Brexit plan'

Mark Drakeford said Labour was offering people the opportunity to vote Leave in another referendum

Labour needs to work harder to explain its Brexit policy to Leave supporters, Wales' first minister has said.

Mark Drakeford was responding to reports the party is changing its election strategy to win over voters in areas that voted for Brexit.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has pledged to strike a new Brexit deal and put it to a referendum with a Remain option.

Welsh Labour leader Mr Drakeford has restated his view the UK should stay in the European Union.

Rival parties have claimed Labour's Brexit policy lacks clarity and have accused Mr Corbyn of a lack of leadership after he said he would stay neutral in any fresh referendum.

On a visit to north east Wales, Mr Drakeford said: "There are some parts of the United Kingdom where we need to work harder to explain it to people who think that the future of the United Kingdom is better off outside the EU that they will still be able to vote for that in a referendum.

"But, as far as Wales is concerned, the analysis that we have done demonstrates clearly to us [that] we need to stay in the European Union."

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In the 2016 referendum, Wales mirrored the overall UK result with a majority of voters in favour of leaving the EU.

One Welsh Labour source in a Leave-voting area said the proposal to offer another referendum was a "fundamental problem".

"There is profound opposition to that. Talking about the deal we might get doesn't matter," he added.

Another source said while the reception generally for Labour was "getting warmer", there was "no level of enthusiasm" for another referendum.

However, a third source told BBC Wales that Welsh Labour private polling had "strongly suggested" the party had much less to fear in Leave areas than Remain areas, and felt positive about how the campaign was going in Wales.