In a complex set of results, one thing is clear: it's time for Labour to back a second referendum

The message for Labour at the European election results could not have been clearer: voters have switched in their droves to pro-remain and pro-referendum parties like the Liberal Democrats and the Greens, even in those so-called “Labour leave” areas in the north of England. Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party must now show those voters the same courtesy and give them clarity in return.

Instead, Monday morning’s post-results analysis from the Labour leader offered the same ambiguousness and triangulation of the election campaign. Writing on Facebook, Corbyn said Labour would “reflect on these results on both sides of the Brexit divide” and then the issue “will have to go back to the people”—either through a general election or a public vote. Frustratingly, the leader’s position has barely changed since before the polls opened last Thursday.

What has changed, however, is the number of senior Labour figures who are now shifting towards a clearer position on a second referendum. Tom Watson and Emily Thornberry have called for clarity from Labour on a second vote—but that was their position all along. But on Monday morning John McDonnell tweeted that it was time to “unite our party and country by taking the issue back to people in a public vote,” clarifying that while he still wanted a general election he realised this is “difficult” to secure and “if, as likely GE not possible, then I support going back to the people in another referendum.”

The shadow chancellor’s words are significant because it shows where the balance of power in the shadow cabinet is shifting. Diane Abbott echoed this message when she tweeted: “We have to take the time to analyse the EU vote. But, when we come in third after the Brexit party, that is a clue something is wrong with our strategy. We need to listen to our members and take a clearer line on a public vote.”

While the phrase “public vote” still carries some ambiguity, the shadow home secretary’s “clearer line” remark shows where the wind is blowing in the shadow cabinet.

Calls for an internal ballot of Labour party members on their position on a second referendum have since escalated. When asked about this prospect in a TV interview, Corbyn said this was something that could be looked at, and possibly decided at Labour conference in September. Yet with Britain due to leave the EU on October 31st, with or without a deal, this timing is perilously tight. As shadow attorney general Shami Chakrabarti said, it is “past midnight” for Labour to start fully backing a second referendum.

Events over the next few weeks will make no room for constructive ambiguity: stung by the success of Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party, Conservative party leadership candidates will harden their position on a no deal in a bid to win back the support of leave voters.

I think this would be an over-interpretation of the Brexit Party’s success, which should instead be taken as many people simply wanting the political parties to get on with Brexit, and not overtly calling for a no deal departure. Yet narratives can become rapidly fixed, particularly when political parties begin to panic about their own demise.

The election results showed there are two powerful forces in British politics right now: yes, huge support for leaving the EU, but also a countervailing demand for a second referendum. In a way, it shows how the UK has not changed much since the 52/48 result of June 2016, except for the fact that the debate is now louder and more urgent.

But what has changed is the tribal party loyalties that were put on hold during that 2016 campaign have now completely broken down. Labour leave voters have already left for Farage’s Brexit party. Many one-time Labour remainers have switched to the Lib Dems, the Greens, and to a very lesser extent, Change UK.

Corbyn needs to recognise where the balance of power lies in British politics—and within his own shadow cabinet—and make Labour, loudly and clearly, the party of a second referendum.