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Corbyn in Scarborough to talk about no-deal Brexit

JEREMY CORBYN was in Scarborough today to discuss with shoppers the potential “catastrophic” impact of a no-deal Brexit.

The Labour leader was also visiting local party members and parliamentary candidate Hugo Fearnley, who has been selected to contest Tory MP Robert Goodwill at the next general election.

Mr Corbyn’s visit came after a University of Sussex study said a departure from the European Union without having a prior agreement in place could cause British families’ shopping bills to rise by £220 a year.

Bank of England governor Mark Carney also sounded the alarm over a no-deal Brexit on Thursday, saying that it would result in an instant “economic shock” as food, petrol and foreign currency would increase in price with the pound sterling at a record low.

He was responding to Chancellor Sajid Javid’s announcement of £2.1 billion in funding to pay for no-deal preparations.

A day before his visit to Scarborough public market, Mr Corbyn warned that Boris Johnson was “gambling with people’s lives.”

He said: “After nine years of austerity holding down people’s pay, with foodbank use at an all-time high and with millions of people living in poverty in one of the richest countries in the world, a hike in food prices will be unaffordable for many families.”

He also spoke about the possibility of a “loss of tourists from Europe” in Britain should a no-deal Brexit occur.

“It [also] would mean a massive impact on the manufacturing industry all across the north of England, because the manufacturing industries mainly supply to Europe. Tariffs will come in, therefore that market will go,” he said.

Asked how Labour would prevent such a scenario, Mr Corbyn expressed doubt that a no-deal Brexit would pass through Parliament. But he said that, if it does, his party would “insist” on a referendum between no-deal and remaining in the EU.

The party would also “explain to people the dangers of a no-deal Brexit, explain the problems on food prices, explain the problems of a non-existent trade deal with the United States and the problems with the British manufacturing industry,” he said.

Mr Johnson has described the chance of a no-deal Brexit on October 31 as “vanishingly small” but the scenario remains the default legal position.

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