UK Labour's Corbyn to urge EU's Barnier to avoid no deal Brexit
LONDON (Reuters) - The leader of Britain’s opposition Labour party Jeremy Corbyn will warn the EU’s Brexit chief Michel Barnier of the dangers of a “no deal” Brexit when he visits Brussels on Thursday, his party said.
British Labour party opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn talks to reporters after a meeting with European Union's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier at the EC headquarters in Brussels, Belgium September 27, 2018. REUTERS/Yves Herman
Corbyn said on Wednesday Labour would vote against a Brexit deal based on Theresa May’s proposals, the strongest warning yet to a prime minister whose plan to leave the European Union is hanging by a thread.
May has said the EU needs to show Britain respect and come up with their own alternatives to her so-called “Chequers” proposals, which EU leaders rejected at a summit in Austria last week.
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“With just weeks of negotiating time left, it’s clear that UK-EU Brexit talks are in a perilous state. Time is running out and companies are losing patience with the absence of any clarity from the government,” Corbyn said in a statement ahead of the meeting with Barnier, adding he would set out how his party would break the current impasse in talks.
“Crashing out of Europe with no deal risks being a national disaster. That is why I’m meeting EU officials today, and I will be urging them to do all they can to avoid a “no-deal” outcome, which would be so damaging to jobs and living standards in both the UK and EU countries.”
Corbyn has previously met with Barnier to discuss Brexit, and once brought him an Arsenal football shirt as a gift.
May has said that Labour’s meetings with EU officials are undermining her efforts to negotiate a Brexit deal.
Reporting by Alistair Smout; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg
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