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Corbyn corners May with Labour Brexit plan

UK Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn (Photo by AFP)

UK Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has piled more pressure on Prime Minister Theresa May by laying out a Brexit plan that he says would take Britain out of the European Union (EU) while keeping tariff-free access to the bloc’s markets.

Corbyn said on Monday that he supports establishing a new customs union deal with the EU after Brexit, a move that is expected to give a tough challenge to May and maybe even cause a major defeat for the Tory PM at the parliament.

May has ruled out any customs union deal with the EU after Brexit, arguing that it would keep London from striking new trade deals with fast-growing economies like China and India.

However, she has been struggling to unite her cabinet and offer a clear path to the divorce by its October deadline. She is also facing a rebellion by a small group of pro-Europeans inside the ruling Conservative Party.

Corbyn hopes to use the division to undermine May’s authority and get the chance to form the next government.

"There will be some who will tell you that Brexit is a disaster for this country and some who will tell you that Brexit will create a land of milk and honey. The truth is more down to earth and it's in our hands: Brexit is what we make of it together," Corbyn said in his speech.

"Labour would negotiate a new and strong relationship with the single market that includes full tariff-free access and a floor under existing rights, standards and protections," he added.

This new customs union deal would only be possible if the UK gets a say in the future trade deals with the EU, he said.

Making a case for a “future Labour government,” Corbyn said his principles as the next PM would be “people’s jobs and living standards.”

“We are committed to building a more prosperous and a more equal Britain, in which every region benefits and no community is left behind, as we set out in our manifesto. And that is what underpins our approach to Brexit,” he said.

To him, the opposition leader said, there was no difference between those who voted in favor of Brexit in the June 2016 referendum and those who voted against it.

“Most people in our country, regardless of whether they voted leave of remain want better jobs, more investment, stronger rights and greater equality,” he said.

He accused May’s “divided” government of keeping Britons “in the dark” over their Brexit strategy.

Pointing to contradicting Brexit outlooks drawn by May, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and other cabinet members, Corbyn said it was not clear “where they are heading.”

Supporters of Brexit think the ability to strike new trade deals around the world is one of the big potential gains of leaving the EU.

Staying in a customs union allows the UK to avoid paying tariffs for its exports to the bloc while curbing the risk of a return to a “hard border” between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, an issue that has hurdled talks with the EU.

May was scheduled to lay out her own plans for a post-Brexit Britain and its relationship with the EU in a speech on Friday.


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