Skip to main content

Jeremy Corbyn calls on May to abandon red lines and negotiate a customs union

JEREMY CORBYN pushed Theresa May today to reveal which of her Brexit red lines she will abandon to secure a deal that includes some form of customs union to get cross-party backing in the Commons.

At Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs), the Labour leader began by demanding that Ms May rule out the option of a no-deal departure from the European Union.

Mr Corbyn pointed out that she would not win MPs’ approval for a deal unless one of her red lines was cast aside.

Ms May claimed that the Labour leader “hasn’t got a clue” over Brexit and urged him to sit down for talks with her to discuss what he wants from leaving the EU.

She asked why Mr Corbyn had refused to meet her without preconditions – one was for her to take no-deal off the table – and jeered that he was “willing” to talk to Hamas, Hezbollah and the IRA.

A Labour spokesman said after PMQs that Ms May’s comment about Hamas, Hezbollah and IRA was “demeaning to the seriousness of the situation” over the Brexit deadlock.

The PM was forced to disown remarks by Chancellor Philip Hammond in Davos, where he said the government would only seek “modest” changes to the current relationship with the EU.

Labour’s shadow chancellor John McDonnell retorted: “You don’t need a PhD to understand that a No Deal would be catastrophic for the economy.
 
“Instead of swanning around among the rich in Davos, Philip Hammond should tell the Prime Minister to take No Deal off the table.”

OWNED BY OUR READERS

We're a reader-owned co-operative, which means you can become part of the paper too by buying shares in the People’s Press Printing Society.

 

 

Become a supporter

Fighting fund

You've Raised:£ 3,793
We need:£ 14,207
27 Days remaining
Donate today