General election 2019: Johnson and Corbyn clash on Brexit in debate
Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn once again clashed on Brexit during a head-to-head debate on BBC last night.
Labour leader Corbyn said his party would bring “an end” to Brexit by renegotiating a deal and holding a second referendum.
While, Johnson said he already had “a wonderful deal” that he would use to take the UK out of the EU by 31 January.
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Host of the debate, Nick Robinson, challenged Johnson by pointing out that he did not have a trade deal in place with the EU and so could not rule out a no-deal exit in January 2021.
Labour had already said earlier in the day that a leaked document revealed Johnson’s deal was “misrepresenting” and would have a “devastating” impact on Northern Ireland.
Corbyn said: “He [Johnson] spoke at a DUP conference and said there would be no [trade] restrictions [after Brexit] whatsoever, we now know there are restrictions.”
However Johnson’s rebuttal earned applause from the audience when he said he found it “slightly curious” to be lectured on the union by Corbyn, who has previously supported those who want to see a united Ireland.
The pair also spent considerable debating the NHS, with Corbyn claiming it would be on the table in a UK-US trade deal and Johnson continuing to deny it.
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SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon said the performance “was utterly woeful” and “both of them are unsuited to be PM”.
Amelia Womack of the Green Party said it was “frustrating” that they “weren’t discussing things relevant to my generation”, such as house and rental prices or zero-hour contracts.
While Liberal Democrat Brexit spokesman Tom Brake said: “Tonight’s debate was British politics at its worst. Two leaders offering nothing new, nothing different and neither being honest about the pain Brexit will cause our communities.”