Alastair Campbell defends Burnley MP Julie Cooper and says general election will not solve Brexit

Mr Campbell said that a general election "would not get Brexit done" and defended Burnley MP Julie Cooper's voting record on Brexit, despite criticism from many in the town who voted to leave the European Union.

A promiment figure in Blair's New Labour and an outspoken critic of current Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, Mr Campbell nevertheless said that he would like to see "anyone but Johnson" as the country's next leader.

He said: "The idea that a general election will solve the Brexit impasse is ludicrous, it will not. Asking the nation to choose our next Government on largely one issue, Brexit, and ignoring the many other areas that need to de done is a disaster. It's daft.

"It's no secret that I'm not a fan of Jeremy Corbyn, and people have a lot of worries about him, but I would still say anyone but Johnson. Keir Starmer is my local MP, he's a good MP, and I will be voting for him.

"Our alleged Prime Minister does not deserve a majority, and I don't think he will get one. We will likely end up with another hung parliament.

"I think we are going to need a second referendum at some point."

Mr Campbell also responded to local criticism of Burnley's Labour MP Julie Cooper, who has been accused of voting against the wishes of the majority Brexit vote in her constituency.

"MPs are not delegates, they're representatives. They have to vote on what they feel is best for the country. They have a loyalty to their party and their constituency."

Alastair Campbell was speaking to the Express on a visit to Burnley where he was a guest speaker at Turf Moor at a conference hosted by the Family, Health and Wellbeing consortium.

See next week's Express for more on the event which saw Mr Campbell speaking about mental health issues.