Corbyn takes Brexit policy to Essex as PM demands answers on Labour’s second referendum
Jeremy Corbyn is heading to one of the most pro-Leave parts of the country as he attempts to take on the Conservatives over Brexit.
The Labour leader will today tell voters in Harlow, Essex that he will “get Brexit sorted within six months” through a second referendum with the choice of either remaining in the EU, or leaving “with a sensible deal”.
Read more: Parties plot winning strategy for December election
Insisting it will not “be a re-run of 2016”, Corbyn will claim his preferred deal – that includes a new customs union and “a close Single Market relationship” – will take just three months to secure.
Corbyn will use his first major intervention on Brexit to warn that under the Tories, Brexit will be “Thatcherism on steroids” leading to a privatisation of the NHS and a reduction of workers’ rights.
But Boris Johnson, who will formally launch the Tory campaign tomorrow, has called on Corbyn to “come clean” on his Brexit position.
In an open letter, published today, the Prime Minister asks his Labour rival if he believed the result of the referendum should be respected – demanding to know how long his “unwanted second referendum” would take, as well as how much it would cost.
“It is already clear that your plan will result in years more expensive delay and will prolong the divisions in our society,” Johnson wrote. “If politicians force the public to vote again because they don’t like the result of an election, we will destroy all faith in our democratic process. Instead, we must show the British people that politicians can be trusted to honour their vote and get Brexit done immediately.”
Both parties risk losing ground to The Brexit Party, which yesterday staked its claim to purists.
At a high profile campaign launch Nigel Farage made it clear he remained a threat by targeting as many Leave-voting seats as possible. To the frustration of Tory Leave-supporters, the Brexit Party insists it will stand more than 600 candidates in the General Election.
Read more: Labour’s election hopes are pinned on shameful NHS scaremongering
Although the focus will be the five million Labour Leave supporters, Farage repeatedly criticised the Conservatives and Johnson’s new Brexit deal, which he described as “a document that you would only have signed if you were beaten in war”.
His supporters booed mentions of Jacob Rees-Mogg and Steve Baker as Farage rubbished Tories for their “conceited arrogance”.