Labour to urge Brexit talk progress

Here’s what Corbyn said 

Jeremy Corbyn MP, Leader of the Labour Party, will travel to Brussels for meetings with leading European Union politicians and negotiators on Thursday (19 October) to set out Labour’s Brexit priorities and attempt to help move the talks forwards and break the Brexit logjam.

Jeremy Corbyn will be meeting EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier and President of the European Parliament, Antonio Tajani. There will also be bilateral meetings with the Italian, Swedish and Portuguese Prime Ministers. He will be accompanied by two members of Labour’s Brexit team, Shadow Brexit Secretary Keir Starmer, and Shadow International Trade Secretary, Barry Gardiner.

 Jeremy Corbyn MP, Leader of the Labour Party, said:

“As the Government’s splits and Brexit bungling become ever more damaging, Labour stands ready to take up responsibility for the Brexit negotiations. 

“A no-deal Brexit would be a bad deal for Britain, threatening jobs and living standards. It would also harm our European neighbours. That’s why it’s in all our interests to increase the pressure for real progress in the current talks and move on to negotiations about our future trading relationship.

“Far from viewing the European Union as ‘the enemy’, Labour would conduct negotiations in a spirit of cooperation and mutual respect with the aim of achieving a strong settlement for Britain and a new relationship with Europe.

 “We are clear in our priorities: a jobs-first Brexit which maintains tariff-free access to the Single Market to protect trade and living standards. Labour will guarantee the rights of EU citizens living in the UK, and seek reciprocal arrangements for British citizens living in mainland Europe.

“The UK is leaving the European Union, but how we do so will be crucial to our country’s future for decades to come. The Government is lurching towards a no-deal Brexit, egged on by a powerful faction which wants to use Brexit to turn Britain into a deregulated tax haven.

“I am unapologetic in taking every opportunity to seek to influence the final Brexit deal in the interests of the many, not just the few.”