Parties 'should form popular front to force Brexit vote'
- Published
Scottish political parties should form a "popular front" to force a fresh Brexit vote, a Labour peer has said.
Lord Adonis said there should be more co-operation between Scottish Labour and the SNP to back the People's Vote group.
The group want a ballot on whatever exit plans result from talks with EU leaders.
Theresa May has rejected calls for a second vote, while Labour wants a general election to decide the issue.
SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon has cleared the way for party MPs to back a second EU referendum, while the Liberal Democrats and Scottish Greens are also in favour.
Speaking on the BBC's Sunday Politics Scotland programme, Lord Adonis said: "In Scotland, the majority voted to Remain and the overwhelming majority of Labour and SNP members want to remain.
"I think Nicola Sturgeon has done the right thing in giving very strong leadership towards a People's Vote.
"What I want to see is a popular front. The whole future of Scotland is at stake. There is no future for Scotland which is better off outside the European Union.
"For my party it is the right thing to do, it's the right thing to do for the Scottish government and they should work together on this."
Lord Adonis has held a number of events across Scotland in the last week and said people were "very clear-sighted as to what they want".
He told the BBC Scotland programme: "In the meetings I've done in Scotland, I've had Labour, Lib Dem and SNP members, and indeed some Conservative members, and what they want is a popular front.
"They want all of the parties coming together to put pressure on the House of Commons so that there is a People's Vote and we end Brexit.
"What we now need is our political leaders to follow the people."
The former transport secretary said the parties could work together and still keep distinct views on the topic of Scottish independence.
"The issue we have in the next year is whether we Brexit or not, that is the issue and the one we should address", he said
"We have an opportunity to stop it but only if our politicians work together."