A new Brexit referendum could be held on 30 May, says Justine Greening

A new Brexit referendum could be held within six months, according to former Conservative cabinet minister Justine Greening.

The Putney MP said today that if parliament defeats Theresa May’s Brexit deal on 11 December, wheels could be put in motion for another country-wide poll on 30 May.

Such a move would see the Article 50 process for the UK leaving the EU extended, meaning Brexit would not occur on 29 March as scheduled.

It would also require a referendum motion in parliament.

Speaking at a so-called people’s vote campaign event in London, the former education secretary said: “I’ve worked out that you could plan and hold a referendum in 22 weeks.

“We could do that in 22 weeks. We could actually, after this vote on December 11, hold a referendum, potentially, on May 30 next year.

“We could, alongside that, choose to extend Article 50, I’ve suggested, by four months to July 29.”

Greening said the ballot paper should give voters three options for the UK’s future relationship with the EU: remain; May’s deal; leaving without a deal.

Her comments in the Southbank Centre in London came a day after Labour shadow chancellor John McDonnell accepted his party’s support for another referendum was “inevitable”.

Labour’s position is to push for a general election if May’s deal is unable to get through parliament, but he accepted the Fixed Term Parliaments Act could prevent that from happening.

Under the terms of the Act, an early election can only be triggered if either two-thirds of MPs back a vote, or the government loses a vote of confidence.

Speaking to the BBC on Wednesday, McDonnell said: “We want a deal that will protect jobs and the economy. If we can’t achieve that – the government can’t achieve that – we should have a general election but that’s very difficult to do because of the nature of the legislation that David Cameron brought forward.

“If that’s not possible, we’ll be calling upon the government then to join us in a public vote. It’s difficult to judge each stage, but that’s the sequence I think that we’ll inevitably go through over this period.”

When asked if he believed it would “inevitable” that another referendum would take place if a general election couldn’t be forced, McDonnell replied: “That’s right. Our policy is if we can’t get a general election, then the other option which we’ve kept on the table is a people’s vote.”