Backing a Final Say referendum before an election could be Labour’s least risky path to power

Inside Westminster: A general election could return Boris Johnson to power with a third of the vote and Brexit still unresolved. But a Final Say referendum could bring the war to a close – and set Labour up to win the peace

We might expect the debate among MPs to be simple: deal or no deal. In fact, a very different one is raging behind the scenes at Westminster – what should happen first, a general election or Final Say referendum?

The answer could decide the final chapter of the Brexit saga. Until this week, the widespread assumption was an election, probably in late November. But in recent days, I’ve been struck by the growing opposition to an election among Labour MPs, and the growing fears among ministers that Jeremy Corbyn will deny Boris Johnson one.

For an election to be called without the government first being brought down, the support of two-thirds of MPs is needed under the Fixed-term Parliaments Act. The assumption was that Johnson would get the numbers because Labour would give the go-ahead once a crash-out on 31 October had been avoided.