I doubt any polling influenced him, rather other shadow cabinet ministers and trade unions telling him a few facts of life,” says Alan Olive, a former regional director and elections officer for Labour. In recent weeks politics pages in newspapers have been rife with stories of a rift in the shadow cabinet, with Corbyn’s shadow chancellor John McDonnell and shadow home secretary Diane Abbott both worrying that Labour has not been explicit enough in saying it would support Remain if a second vote were to pass.