Jeremy Corbyn has been urged to agree a Brexit deal with Theresa May and to reject calls for a second referendum, in a letter from 25 Labour MPs.
Ian Mearns, MP for Gateshead, Grahame Morris, MP for Easington, Emma Lewell-Buck, MP for South Shields, and Ronnie Campbell, MP for Blyth Valley, were among Labour MPs signing the letter to their party leader.
They said: “A second referendum would be exploited by the far right, damage the trust of many core Labour voters and reduce our chances of winning a general election.”
Mr Corbyn has agreed to a request from Mrs May to hold talks designed to end the logjam over Brexit.
The Prime Minister said earlier this week that she hoped the pair could agree a plan “to ensure that we leave the European Union and that we do so with a deal”.
Some Labour MPs have suggested Mrs May’s offer is a “trap” designed to shift some of the blame for the Brexit chaos on to Labour.
And some have insisted that Mr Corbyn must not sign up to any deal unless it includes the promise of a “confirmatory vote”, which would involve a second referendum giving voters a choice between the deal or staying in the EU.
However, the letter from 25 MPs shows that there are also elements of the party that want the talks to succeed, so that Brexit can go ahead.
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The MPs said: “We believe that the Prime Minister should have reached out to you a lot sooner than she did.
“However, these talks do represent a real opportunity for you, on behalf of the Labour movement, to secure vital goals for working people.”
They said that if the party secures a deal that protects jobs and rights at work, “we will be able to claim great credit for achieving a deal that can bring Remain and Leave voters together.”
It comes as Commons leader Andrew Leadsom warned MPs could have more of their Easter holiday cut short to try and break the Brexit deadlock.
The Easter break, known as a recess, was due to on April 4 and continue until April 23.
The first week of recess has already been cancelled and Commons Leader warned the House may need to sit for three further days, because there is yet to be a breakthrough in the exit process.
But she said this was depended on whether the talks between Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn made progress.
Speaking during Business Questions on Thursday, Mrs Leadsom said: “We do want to enable all colleagues to have a break during Holy Week but I would note we need to retain flexibility to potentially sit on Monday and Tuesday of that week, April 15 and 16.”
She also said: “It is likely we may need to sit on Friday of next week.”
It comes after the February recess for the Commons was also cancelled so MPs could pass legislation related to Brexit.
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