Why WAS showboat Corbyn there?
JEREMY CORBYN was treated to a hero’s welcome as he travelled to Brussels yesterday hoping to undermine the Prime Minister’s Brexit strategy.
After being introduced to fans as ‘the new prime minister of Britain’, the Labour leader claimed that Theresa May’s approach could result in a ‘catastrophic’ outcome.
During the charm offensive, which involved meeting the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator and posing for selfies, he ruled out walking away from talks even if the UK is offered an abysmal deal.
His decision to co-ordinate the one-day trip with Mrs May’s crunch dinner with leaders was ridiculed by critics last night who claimed he is being ‘weaponised’ by the EU to disrupt talks. In a clear attempt to woo EU chiefs, Mr Corbyn used the trip to accuse the Prime Minister of ‘upsetting everybody’ and claimed she is engulfed by political chaos.
The Labour leader also provoked Eurosceptics who are demanding that the UK starts preparing for a ‘no deal’ scenario, claiming this is not a feasible option.
Mr Corbyn said: ‘The Prime Minister seems to have managed to upset just about everybody and have a warring Cabinet around her. It is up to her to get the negotiations back on track. We cannot countenance the idea that we just rush headlong into no deal with Europe.
‘No deal with Europe would be very dangerous for employment and jobs in Britain. It would be catastrophic for manufacturing industry jobs and we would have real problems all through
the economy. We have to realise the seriousness of the situation and the chaos in which our Government is operating.’
Mr Corbyn had a private meeting with the eU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier and european Parliament president Antonio Tajani, who this week said a £20billion Brexit bill is ‘peanuts’.
Brexiteers accused Mr Corbyn of trying to interfere in negotiations, with former Ukip leader Nigel Farage saying it showed the eU was ‘playing divide and rule’.
Syed Kamall, the UK’s most senior Conservative MeP, said: ‘Jeremy Corbyn coming here only helps the eU – he is effectively Michel Barnier’s puppet.
‘Barnier is very clever and he will use Corbyn, he’ll weaponise Corbyn.
‘he’ll use him for his own ends to help the eU side of the negotiations. One of the negotiating tactics is the ability to be able to walk away from a deal.’ At a europe Together conference attended by socialist leaders, Mr Corbyn was mobbed by supporters. he was introduced by Gianni Pittella, leader of the european Parliament’s socialist group, as ‘the new prime minister of Britain’.
Mr Corbyn used the event to poke fun at Chancellor Philip hammond’s recent reference to the eU as ‘the enemy’.
‘Let me be clear, the British Labour Party does not see anyone in europe as an enemy,’ he said.
‘We see people across europe as friends. You are our colleagues, our partners, our comrades and our friends.’
he also used the speech to call for the return to socialist governments across europe, claiming that low taxes and inequality were benefiting the rich.