I CAN understand why leave voters are angry with the Labour Party right now.

At the last general election, Labour pledged to respect the EU referendum result. But in the intervening two-and-a-half years the party has changed its position on Brexit.

A combination of pressure from the grassroots, in conjunction with pressure from Remain-supporting MPs, has resulted in a policy to hold another referendum on any deal, including one that has been negotiated by our own party.

Feeling betrayed, Leave voters are planning on casting their votes for Leave-supporting parties.

However, this general election is not another referendum. A vote for the Tory Party is a vote for more cuts to public services, more poverty, more inequality, lower pay and, most importantly, it puts our NHS at grave risk.

It’s worth remembering that Labour is not a Remain party, while it might seem that way to some.

It has struggled with the best position to take on Brexit. Thousands of Labour members fought against the adoption of a public vote, alongside Leave-respecting MPs like John Trickett and Ian Lavery.

Jeremy Corbyn has stated publicly his decision not to campaign on either side in a future EU referendum, choosing instead to act as an honest broker who can implement the referendum result and then try to bring our country back together.

Although I voted to Remain in the EU in 2016, I would vote to Leave it should Labour run a future referendum. I know many Labour members would do the same.

I beg all Leave voters considering punishing the Labour Party by voting for the Tories or the Brexit Party to please think again.

Instead of treating this general election as a second EU referendum, we should see it as so much more than that. The policies the Labour and Tory parties are offering the electorate will have long-term repercussions.

It is better to vote in a Labour government — one that will increase your wages, improve your work security, build council homes for all, save our NHS, free young people from student debt, clamp down on tax dodging, invest in infrastructure, nationalise our utilities, adequately fund our public services and vastly improve the lives of the majority of people in this country — than sacrifice our future to a right-wing Tory government.

You might well resent having to vote again, and I get that, but better to resent voting again with more money in your pocket, more happiness and security for you and your loved ones than get the Brexit you crave under Boris Johnson (which Nigel Farage claims isn’t even Brexit).

This is not an ideal situation, I know, but not too shabby either. For example under Labour: public-sector workers would get a pay rise of 5 per cent — an average of £1,643, 16-18-year-olds will get an average of £3,497,18-20-year-olds will get an average £5,986, 21-24-year-olds will get an average £4,485, and workers aged 25 and over will get an average £3,444.

Unfortunately, to punish Labour for its policy on a confirmatory vote, you have to punish yourself, your family, your friends and your community too.

So please, I beg you, park your anger long enough to vote Labour on December 12.

Hold your nose if you have to, the way I held my nose and voted for Labour under Tony Blair when I’d grown deeply disillusioned with his leadership.

Think of it as punishment for a Conservative government that has failed to deliver Brexit in three long years because of splits in their own party.

Think of it as a punishment for a Conservative government that is using Brexit to divide the working class who they have shat on for nine long years.

Think of it as a punishment for a Conservative government which is responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths due to its needless austerity policies.

Think of it as a punishment for a Conservative government who called this general election confident in the belief working-class voters would be so blinded by Brexit they would vote against their own interests and those of their loved ones.

Think of it as a way of proving to a cocky Conservative government that you know full well whether they deliver Brexit or not, you will never benefit from it because their party only represents the interests of the wealthy few.