• THE wraparound advert in last week’s Tribune calling on Jeremy Corbyn to back a People’s Vote certainly raised eyebrows among the officers and members of Islington North Labour Party. It also raised a number of questions.

The advert took the form of a letter to Jeremy from young activists and voters who all, it is claimed, support the Labour Party. But who are these young people? There are no actual names, so it’s impossible to know if they really are Labour supporters.

Who paid for the advert? The cover story in the Tribune (Young campaigners issue appeal to Corbyn, January 18) reveals that it was placed by Cathleen Clarke, who works for the campaign group Our Future Our Choice (OFOC), a cross-party campaign group.

If OFOC paid for the advert, where did the money come from? It’s hard to believe the young people it claims to represent can afford to take out expensive newspaper adverts.

OFOC is said to share an office with organisations funded and backed by big business and former donors to the Lib Dems and the Conservatives. Are these donors the source of its funding?

Labour Party members and supporters, young and not so young, differ on the issue of calling a second referendum. Supporters of a second referendum are perfectly entitled to campaign for one. But it is not unreasonable to ask that they do so in an open and transparent manner.

Jeremy Corbyn has made it absolutely clear that the outcome of the Brexit referendum must be respected and that Labour Party policy is to call for a general election to resolve the issue that has done so much to divide our country.

Only if Theresa May’s Con­servative government, despite its total failure to negotiate an acceptable settlement with the EU and its historic defeat in the House of Commons last week, insists on clinging to power will Labour consider other options, including a People’s Vote.

The Labour Party is absolutely committed to preventing a no-deal Brexit. It is committed to securing a deal that prioritises British jobs by maintaining our close trading links with Europe, protects workers’ rights, and maintains environmental standards.

Labour is the only party that speaks for both Leavers and Remainers. As Jeremy Corbyn has pointed out, both Leavers and Remainers are victims of the economically destructive and socially divisive policies of many years of Tory misrule.

Only the Labour Party can form a government that will set a new course for our country and heal the divisions that are causing so much damage. The only real People’s Vote is a general election.

ALISON McGARRY
Chair, Islington North Labour Party

STEPHEN MOORBY
Secretary, Islington North Labour Party