David Drew should resign as a shadow minister if Labour pursue a second referendum, his Conservative opponent to be Stroud MP has said.

Siobhan Baillie's call comes as deadlock over Brexit has raised the possibility of another referendum as a way out of the impasse.

Dr Drew, who was appointed as shadow minister for environment, food and rural affairs in 2017 by Jeremy Corbyn, wants another general election, but he has also recently expressed an openness towards a second referendum.

That is despite telling an audience in Nailsworth in October that he would "never support a referendum on anything again" given the "misbehaviour" seen during the 2016 vote.

He also warned an audience in Stroud in the summer that another referendum, and the divisiveness of its campaign, would be "blood-letting".

But in his speech on the eve of the vote on Theresa May's Brexit deal, he said: "If we are driven towards a referendum, much as I hate referendums, it is something we will have to face up to in order to bring this country back together again, because the divisions have been made so great."

Ms Baillie, who opposes both a general election and a second referendum, thinks Dr Drew must resign if he thinks a second referendum would be so harmful. 

She said: "David has stated he will never vote for another referendum.

"Given these comments to the people of Stroud, he should resign his shadow minister role to avoid pursuing a second referendum if Labour move to that position."