„I voted last night knowing that two thirds of Labour constituencies in the country voted to leave.

„One reason for that was that people in Westminster and Whitehall and in elite groups don‘t wish to listen to them.

„I wanted to make sure that those two thirds of Labour constituencies had a voice.“

The veteran MP has angered some of his Merseyside Labour colleagues after also voting to help hard-line Tories like Jacob Rees Mogg score a decisive victory preventing the UK from joining the EU‘s VAT regime.