Strong Corbyn speech in parliament nails why Johnson’s Brexit deal is such a ‘disaster’

Jeremy Corbyn in parliament


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On 22 October, Jeremy Corbyn delivered a strong speech in parliament which nailed why Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal would be such a “disaster”.

Why we need to oppose Johnson’s disastrous deal

Corbyn first reiterated that Johnson’s deal would be “a disaster for our country”. Having looked at the details of the deal, he called it:

nothing less than a charter for deregulation and a race to the bottom

And he explained that it:

fails to protect our rights and our natural world, fails to protect jobs and the economy, fails to protect every region and nation in the United Kingdom.

He also clarified that the deal:

would be good for the hedge fund managers and speculators but bad for the communities that we represent, our industries, and people’s jobs and living standards.

He then said it would pave the way “for Trump-style trade deals that will attack jobs, rights and protections, and open up our precious National Health Service and other public services for further privatisation”.

And he challenged Johnson “to name a single trade union in this country that backs his deal”.

The alternative to Johnson’s “sell out deal”

Writing in the Mirror, meanwhile, shadow chancellor John McDonnell echoed this assessment, saying:

Boris Johnson’s sell out deal would give a green light for his government to trigger a race to the bottom on rights and protections, putting food safety, workers’ rights and consumer standards at risk and hitting the poorest parts of our country hardest.

And he stressed that:

Labour will seize every opportunity through the passage of the Withdrawal Agreement Bill to safeguard workers’ rights, protect our economy and ensure the people are given the final say.

Setting out an alternative which would have the support of “businesses and manufacturers”, he argued that:

A new Customs Union between the UK and the EU, with a UK say, can command a majority in the House.

Labour would also seek to get “legally-binding commitments on workers’ rights and the environment” which Johnson has shunned. And McDonnell said any final compromise deal in parliament “should go back to the people” in a post-election referendum.

The sensible, realistic choice

Democracy, at its best, is about being able to reach sensible compromises when big disagreements are blocking progress. It’s not about a minority steaming ahead with what it wants without even listening to the concerns of those who think differently. And today, around half of the British population don’t feel strongly about either Leave or Remain; so pushing forward with a hardline position seems like one of the least representative options going.

Corbyn’s team is the adult in the room here. It stands firmly in defence of ordinary people’s rights and wellbeing; and it promises to put forward a sensible, realistic choice to voters so they can make the final decision. That’s a position that no amount of bluster from Johnson can derail.

Featured image via RT UK

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  • Show Comments

    1. I’m a Brit that is living in the USA. I can assure you that unless you are very, very wealthy yo do not want to live here. Employment benefits have steadily declined since the Reagan/Thatcher era. Poorer wages, lower salaries, less vacation time, worse healthcare benefits, etc., etc. I could go on and on but you get the picture.

      Britain is being, possibly literally, sold down the river by the very wealthy. They don’t care about anyone but themselves, in the UK or here in the US. The standard of education in the US has declined along with living standards, and that includes healthcare staff as well as academics. People are destitute because of outrageous healthcare costs, loss of employment with no new jobs being created.

      Yet prices continue to soar so the corporations can continue to reports fat profits while workers have to live in doorways in the streets. I used to work for a company where the executives had no idea that many of their production workers were living in cardboard boxes in the canyon behind their factory. When I showed them they were shocked. But they did nothing about it. Nothing!

      My wife and I can’t afford to move back to the UK or we would do so in an instant. We’re retired, living on a fixed income and considerably better off than 90% of other Americans our age, but we’re much worse off that we were when Reagan was elected.

      For goodness sake, get rid of Bogus Johnson and his band of wealthy cohorts before you’re left with a nothing at all worth having.

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