One ‘party’ wins the award for most ludicrous response to Corbyn’s Brexit plan. No, it’s not the Lib Dems.

Jeremy Corbyn has laid out his plan to stop a no-deal Brexit, calling on other parties to back him in the formation of a temporary government. The responses have been both telling and hilarious.
But one ‘party’ in particular should win the award for the most ludicrous reaction. And it’s not the Lib Dems (hard as that party may have tried).
You can’t be serious?
Corbyn has proposed a plan to oust Boris Johnson as PM via a vote of no confidence. He then wants MPs’ backing to form a temporary government that would block a no-deal Brexit (by extending Article 50) and call a general election. Naturally, Johnson’s government isn’t a fan of the idea. But a number of opposition parties, including the Greens and the SNP, have said they’re open to the idea. In line with the Tory government, however, the Lib Dems have come out against Corbyn’s plan.
My appeal to @JoSwinson to reconsider her response to Corbyn's approach on stopping a disastrous No Deal #Brexit pic.twitter.com/47xVDpUoMf
— Caroline Lucas (@CarolineLucas) August 15, 2019
Read on...
Another small grouping of MPs have also criticised Corbyn’s plan. Not because of the substance of it, but because he didn’t invite them to the party:
This is a stunt. If you were making a serious proposal Corbyn would have written to all opposition parties. But significantly he did not write to @ForChange_Now @Anna_Soubry. Why not ? https://t.co/nYxKT0CXlT
— Mike Gapes (@MikeGapes) August 15, 2019
You’d be forgiven for wondering what on earth this Mike Gapes character is talking about. The party Gapes is referring to is the Independent Group for Change; a five-MP-strong grouping more readily remembered for when it called itself the Independent Group (TIG). It then changed its name to Change UK before the latest incarnation. The influx and departure of MPs to and from the party has been as variable and short-lived as its names.
Other members, meanwhile, tweeted:
1/4 I am disappointed Jeremy Corbyn did not include me in his letter especially as there are five MP members of our party.
Our exclusion and the preference for a General Election rather than an immediate People’s Vote leads me to conclude this is nothing more than a stunt.— Anna Soubry MP (@Anna_Soubry) August 14, 2019
I oppose a no-deal Brexit because it puts jobs at risks, devalues our currency, sees businesses leave the UK, divides society & undermines national security.
I oppose a hard left Government under Corbyn for the same reasons. https://t.co/Zp6CxAj0T2
— Chris Leslie (@ChrisLeslieMP) August 15, 2019
Who?
People were only too happy to point out to Gapes and his party exactly why they thought Corbyn had made this ‘significant’ omission:
He probably couldn't remember what name you're now using
— Jay (@jshopson) August 15, 2019
It's hard to keep track of which other opposition parties to address it to – especially when those parties split and change their names a billion times. Which one are you in again?
— Ⓐnsh (@BlazeQuark) August 15, 2019
Perhaps he looked at the polls and saw you at 0% and realised like we all have, how irrelevant you are.
— Oprah Mojito 🍸 (@oprah48) August 15, 2019
One commentator, though, perhaps answered Gapes’ outrage most sufficiently, and succinctly:
Who ?
— Janet T Beckett 💚 #ReachovertheNoise #JC4PM #GTTO (@carbonsaveruk) August 15, 2019
True colours
The response to Corbyn’s proposal has been eye-opening. It’s essentially forced parties to unmask. Jo Swinson’s party has shown itself to be the same animal many learnt about the hard way in 2010: a coldblooded, Conservative-leaning horror show that will always put itself first. The ‘Independent Group for Change’, meanwhile, has revealed that it’s most definitely not up for change. It’s also shown that, for a tiny group of MPs, it has one hell of an ego and a very ropey grip on reality.
Good luck selling that in the next general election.
Featured image via The Guardian/YouTube
We need your help to keep speaking the truth
Every story that you have come to us with; each injustice you have asked us to investigate; every campaign we have fought; each of your unheard voices we amplified; we do this for you. We are making a difference on your behalf.
Our fight is your fight. You’ve supported our collective struggle every time you gave us a like; and every time you shared our work across social media. Now we need you to support us with a monthly donation.
We have published nearly 2,000 articles and over 50 films in 2021. And we want to do this and more in 2022 but we don’t have enough money to go on at this pace. So, if you value our work and want us to continue then please join us and be part of The Canary family.
In return, you get:
* Advert free reading experience
* Quarterly group video call with the Editor-in-Chief
* Behind the scenes monthly e-newsletter
* 20% discount in our shop
Almost all of our spending goes to the people who make The Canary’s content. So your contribution directly supports our writers and enables us to continue to do what we do: speaking truth, powered by you. We have weathered many attempts to shut us down and silence our vital opposition to an increasingly fascist government and right-wing mainstream media.
With your help we can continue:
* Holding political and state power to account
* Advocating for the people the system marginalises
* Being a media outlet that upholds the highest standards
* Campaigning on the issues others won’t
* Putting your lives central to everything we do
We are a drop of truth in an ocean of deceit. But we can’t do this without your support. So please, can you help us continue the fight?
-
Show Comments
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to leave a comment.Join the conversationPlease read our comment moderation policy here.