JEREMY Corbyn should step down unless he can make Labour a party of Remain and unequivocally back a second EU referendum, one of the party’s most senior politicians has said.

Former Scottish Labour MEP David Martin is the first major politician in the party to call for the Labour leader to go following the party’s dismal European elections’ results.

In an exclusive interview with The National he stated “any sensible or sensitive leader” would look at the party’s performance and “think they got something dramatically wrong” and called for him to change his Brexit policy or go if he wanted to act in the long term interests of the party.

Martin said: “I want Labour to be a party of remain and to support a confirmatory referendum - unequivocally - not mealy mouth about first preference general election and all that stuff, but to make it clear that any deal will go to a public vote.”

Pressed what Corbyn should do if he could not back such a unambiguous pro-Remain position, Martin added: “Then he should consider his position.”

The Labour leader has given no hints of quitting despite the party’s devastating European election results. He appears to continue to have the support of the party’s grassroots after landslide victories in the 2015 and 2016 leadership elections and saw off an attempted coup by his MPs in 2016.

Questioned about the grassroots’ support despite the party’s poor performance in the poll, Martin said: “I think that this is partly why he needs to consider his position. He has won two internal elections so he can argue he has a mandate, but he doesn’t have a mandate for the line he is taking on Europe.

“Any sensible or even sensitive leader is going to look at the European election results and think they got something dramatically wrong. And if you’re completely unable to change as a result of that, then you do have to consider your position in terms of the long term future of the Labour party.”

Martin underlined: “We should be making it clear we are a remain party. It’s not enough just to say we are a remain party, we need to make clear that in a second referendum we would be campaigning for a remain vote.”

In a social media post yesterday, Martin pointed out a number of EU party leaders had quit after their parties did badly - and took a swipe at Corbyn.

“Andrea Nahles quit as leader of Germany’s SPD after disappointing election results and now Laurent Wauquiez, the leader of France’s center-right Les Républicains party, has quit in the wake of a crushing defeat in the EU ballot. No lessons for U.K. Labour here I don’t suppose?” he wrote on Twitter.

Labour polled just 14% across the UK in the Euro elections, losing votes to the Brexit Party in Leave-voting areas and to the Lib Dems in pro-EU areas. Half of the party’s 20 MEPs going into the elections lost their seats with the party coming third behind the Brexit Party and Lib Dems.

In Scotland, it fared even worse, recording its poorest ever election result and coming in fifth place with 9% of the votes. The result provoked a meltdown with two of of the party’s most senior MSPs quitting the front bench.

Neil Findlay, Corbyn’s top ally in Scotland, left his role as Brexit spokesman. Justice spokesman Daniel Johnson also quit, citing Labour’s approach to Brexit.

Johnson did not issue his resignation letter via the party and instead posted it on social media. The MSP pointed out Labour finished sixth in the capital, and he felt unable to represent the pro-Remain views held by 80% of his constituents ‘under the current direction and leadership of the party’.

Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard refused to go in the aftermath of the results but admitted he was prepared to ‘take the flak’ for them.

Speaking yesterday Martin was less critical of Leonard than Corbyn saying that the Scottish Labour boss had committed to support a second EU referendum.

Martin was first elected in 1984 and was the longest serving UK parliamentarian. During his career he won support from across political parties with the First Minister paying tribute to his work. He is the the first senior Labour figure to call for Corbyn to step down following the election, but a number of front benchers have urged him to change his Brexit stance, including shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry and deputy leader Tom Watson who also want Corbyn to back a second referendum with a commitment to campaign for remain.

Labour policy is to get a better deal or seek a general election and if that fails back a second EU vote. Last month Corbyn-supporting journalist Paul Mason wrote an article under the headline “Corbynism is now in crisis: the only way forward is to oppose Brexit.”

Labour did not respond to a request for a response to Martin’s intervention.