Thornberry: I will campaign against my own Brexit deal
LABOUR frontbencher emily Thornberry was mocked yesterday after she said she wanted to push for a better Brexit deal – and then campaign against it in a referendum.
Fellow panellists on the BBC’s Question Time branded the Shadow Foreign Secretary ‘ridiculous’ when she revealed her plans.
Miss Thornberry also said it was time for a second EU referendum because the first one was ‘a long time’ ago.
Chancellor Sajid Javid described Labour’s Brexit position as ‘completely mad’, and said it showed the UK needed a general election.
Labour has been split over its position on a second referendum. Jeremy Corbyn has long opposed one, and for a while would only countenance one on a Tory deal or to block a no Deal Brexit.
But recently he has accepted that a second referendum must be held in all circumstances, and that the party would campaign for Remain over no Deal or a Tory deal.
Officially, Labour has not yet decided whether it would campaign for Remain in the event of the party getting into power and negotiating its own deal with Brussels.
Miss Thornberry was challenged by Question Time host Fiona Bruce over Labour’s Brexit policy. The presenter said: ‘If you were to win a general election, you would go to europe, try and get a better deal, have a referendum where Remain is an option.
‘Would you then be campaigning against your own deal, to Remain against your own deal you negotiated? Or would you be actually saying, “no, support our deal”?’
Miss Thornberry initially replied: ‘I, erm,’ before Miss Bruce interrupted to ask her again. The Shadow Foreign Secretary went on to say that she would campaign in favour of Remain even if Labour got a deal with Brussels.
Drawing ridicule from her fellow panellists and audience mem-bers, she said: 'I would negotiate a deal to the best of my ability, a deal that will look after jobs and the economy, but the best way to look after jobs and the economy is for us to Remain.'
Tory MP Kwasi Kwarteng interrupted: 'And then you'll campaign against it?'
LBC radio host lain Dale said Miss Thornberry and Labour should be ashamed of their stance on Brexit, adding: 'Do you have any idea how ridiculous that sounds to everybody here? You think people are going to vote for you on that basis. Have you no shame?'
Brexit Party MEP Richard Tice added: 'Have you any idea how the European Union will treat us if we negotiate in that way? "Give us a nice deal please, then I'm going to vote not to have it in the first place." Utterly, utterly ridiculous.'
Miss Thornberry later told BBC Radio 4's Today pro-gramme: 'In the end we are def-erential to the will of the people and it has been a long time since the last referendum.'
Responding to her comments, Mr Javid tweeted: 'Conserva-tives' position on Brexit crystal-clear: leave on 31st October, Deal or No Deal. Labour posi-tion completely mad. Treating the British public like fools. We need a general election to let the great British public decide.'
‘Have you no shame?’