Labour in new chaos as Corbyn hints at EU ties
JEREMY Corbyn triggered fresh confusion about Labour’s Europe policy yesterday by suggesting that Britain could keep many ties to Brussels after Brexit.
In a muddled BBC interview, the hard-Left leader insisted the question of whether the UK should stay in the EU’s single market was “open for discussion”.
He also refused to rule out Britain keeping its borders open to EU migrants after formally leaving the bloc.
Mr Corbyn’s remarks came hours before MPs were set to vote on the Government’s crunch EU Withdrawal Bill at Westminster amid deepening divisions in Labour ranks.
Tory MP Nigel Evans insists the interview showed the party was in chaos over Brexit which “further fuelled the confusion about Labour’s policy”. He said: “Jeremy Corbyn needs to understand that we cannot remain members of the single market without paying into the EU.
“Does he want British taxpayers to go on paying billions of pounds a year for access to market instead of spending the money on nurses and doctors?”
Mr Evans said Mr Corbyn appeared to be torn between his own past Eurosceptic instincts and the pro-Brussels sympathies of shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer.
Mr Evans added: “He is all over the place. He is being pulled one way by Keir Starmer and another by his own conscience. As leader of the opposition, he has a duty to set out a clear position and stick to it.”
Mr Corbyn’s remarks came in an interview on Radio 4.
He said that the transitional relationship with the EU after formally leaving the bloc in 2019 should be “for as long as necessary and as short as possible”. He also refused to answer repeated questions on free movement rules.