On Brexit, Labour risks being left behind

For Labour, the challenge in finding its voice on Brexit has as much been a question of timing as of content. Since 2016, the party has regularly been on the back foot - often only belatedly coming around to the logical positions at any given time. 

When Labour could have swiftly pushed for a soft Brexit in 2016, it was hard to discern what position it held at all.

When Labour could have led the conversation on a second referendum, it spent long months buried in internal debates and processes as it tried to sustain a policy of 'strategic ambiguity far past its sell-by date.

And now we see that Labour is planting its flag on the idea of 'making Brexit work'.

In practice this would only entail a few changes from the current Brexit policy, mostly to do with style and presentation rather than content. 

A resolution might be found on the Northern Ireland Protocol, including an SPS agreement with the EU. And the dash for divergence as an end goal in itself would likely be ended. 

But otherwise it's most of the same wishful thinking that 'Brexit opportunities' can suddenly be made to materialise and that a few mutual recognition agreements can bring back the benefits of frictionless trade. 

Importantly, 'make Brexit work' means that the foundations of the Conservatives' Hard Brexit - outside the Single Market, outside the Customs Union and no freedom of movement - will be left untouched. Most of the red tape, reduced opportunities and loss of personal freedom will remain the same. 

Once again, there is the very real risk that Labour will pursue the wrong policy at the wrong time. 

For at the very moment Labour commits itself to Brexit, we see the great ship of public opinion steadily turning against the fateful decision of 2016. 

It has already been true for some time that polling on whether Brexit was right or wrong in hindsight showed that most people thought it was the wrong decision. The classic, and legitimate, counter to this point was that such polling didn't necessarily mean people would want to actually reverse the decision.

But now more and more evidence shows that this is precisely what the majority want. In just the last week, two polls on rejoining the EU showed 56% and 60% in favour, respectively. 

Even the Daily Telegraph, a bastion of pro-Brexit ideology for the last six years, has begun to tell the other side of the story. 

Brexit isn't going to get better. There's no secret trick that is going to send public opinion into full reverse from its current trend. In rejecting the option to Rejoin, Labour could soon find itself in the unenviable position of being made to carry the can for future Brexit failures. The party would sacrifice the benefits of higher growth and greater freedom in the name of a pro-Brexit majority that no longer exists. 

In the current political landscape, the next election may hand Labour a historic opportunity to change the direction of this country. That opportunity will be lost if the party can't catch up to the popular desire to return to the EU.