In the wake of Britain’s European election, Labour’s right wing has used the party’s poor performance as the opportunity to launch the latest attack on Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership. Yet this onslaught was already well under way before a single vote had been cast.

Labour’s deputy leader Tom Watson and MPs like Wes Streeting complained bitterly about the party’s Brexit policy during the election campaign; one anti-Corbyn ultra, Margaret Hodge, even called for people to vote against her own party. They all wanted Corbyn to make a firm commitment to the anti-Brexit, “People’s Vote” camp.

After Labour slumped to 14 percent and third place at the polls, the pro-Remain right is insisting more stridently than ever that the party needs to take a hard stance against leaving the European Union. Such a position, however, risks a lasting split in Labour’s base, along the lines of the 2016 referendum. In fact, in the context of the push against Corbyn’s leadership, it’s not at all clear it’s supposed to help Labour electorally.