Lisa Nandy has been one of the voices from the Labour benches most in favour of finding a compromise over Brexit. Representing the overwhelmingly pro-Leave constituency of Wigan, she was one of a group of Labour MPs that those of us who supported Theresa May’s deal had hoped would eventually swing behind it and get the deal through parliament. Famously, she never quite got there, and we are where we are.

Does she now regret it?

I sat down with her at the Big Tent Ideas Festival over the weekend, and asked her. In fact, I virtually implored her to say she regretted it, but no such luck. Her answer was somewhat surprising – and hinges on a technicality: although it is commonly said that the deal was rejected by parliament three times, these were only the “meaningful votes” that the government was mandated to introduce, prior to introducing the bill itself. These she voted against, but say she would have supported the bill once the details had been thrashed out in “second reading.”

Convinced? Take a look:

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Freddie Sayers is the Editor-in-Chief & CEO of UnHerd. He was previously Editor-in-Chief of YouGov, and founder of PoliticsHome.

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