Barnsley gives Jezza the chop over ‘U-turn betrayal of voters’
You can’t ask people to vote then go against their wishes ANNA RICHARDSON ON THE MAJORITY ‘LEAVERS’
JCorbyn is doing a U-turn... I don’t think he is strong enough SUSAN BALL ON FEARS OVER LABOUR LEADER
He’s trying to take government by dividing the Tory party MIKE GREENWOOD ON THE ‘MOTIVES’ OF TACTIC
eremy Corbyn’s Great European Policy Switch went down like the falling wet snow in Labour’s heartland yesterday. Shoppers in Barnsley market in South Yorkshire didn’t warm to his conversion to “a customs union” with the EU after Brexit.
This is devout Leave country, where almost 70% of voters said “Out”. If the new message is to gain traction, it has to be among these ranks of traditional Labour.
But a poll of people taking shelter from the snow showed not even Jezza’s vague promise of “a” customs union has changed minds.
The last union that was popular here was the National Union of Mineworkers, and look what happened to that.
Ex-miner Brian Wilson, 68, walking his dogs in the biting east wind, said: “I don’t think it’s necessary to adopt this policy. I think we can trade with anybody.”
Mike Greenwood, a 64-year-old chemicals compliance officer, was more critical.
“It’s a pragmatic idea that he’s come up with, to keep the advantages of a single union but without the disadvantages,” he said. “I don’t think the Europeans are going to have any truck with that. What advantage is it to them?
“If this is what he’s trying to do, it’s opportunistic rather than principled. He may be principled in many ways, but he’s trying to take government by dividing the Tory party and splitting their vote. It’s fairly cynical.”
Veteran Labour MP Frank Field greeted the Corbyn conversion on the road to Brussels as “an impossible dream” and “meaningless”, warning it could cost swathes of seats in Brexit-supporting Labour constituencies where voters feel betrayed. Judging by the mood in Barnsley, he touches on a raw political nerve. Cook Anna Richardson, 36, said: “Everybody, well, a majority, voted out. You have to go by the majority. You can’t ask people to vote then go against their wishes. “Corbyn can’t make his mind up. No politician can make his mind up. We have decided, they should listen to us.” Penistone shopper Susan Ball said: “We opted to come out and stand on our own feet. Jeremy Corbyn is doing a U-turn. He hasn’t got the strength of character, so I’m apprehensive about him.” I heard similar views in Barnsley market the day after the Euro referendum. But Labour went on to win all the seats in the area despite local MPs being Remainers. So too much should not perhaps be read into a sample of the public on a winter’s day. Even so, it’s still disconcerting to hear just how vehement they can be. Cafe worker Gillian Austin, 48, said: “Corbyn’s policy is to get with the Tory rebels so he can get the Government out. It’s more a political move to oust Theresa May.
“I think less of him after this U-turn because he seems more to be saying what people want him to say. He’s determined to be the next Prime Minister.”
Not even the only genuine European I could find was willing to back the Labour leader. German Manfred Richter, peering out from a haberdashery stall, said: “I wouldn’t trust him. He changes his mind every few months. He’s not honest.”
Neighbouring sweets stallholder Rod Ashton wanted “nowt to do with Corbyn. He’s a waste of space. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about”.
It’s not all bad vibes for Jezza. This is, after all, where they still weigh Labour votes, not count them. Sitting at a cafe, pensioner Kathleen Lowndes insisted: “I really like Jeremy. I approve of what he does. We have to have some kind of connection with Europe. We should have stayed in.”
Companion Ron Lawrence, 75, was still of the “out, definitely” view, but not “completely out.” “I don’t think we can drop out and have nothing to do with Europe – but we should be able to rule our own country.”
Overall, a troubling snapshot of opinion for Labour. The snow didn’t settle in Barnsley, and Jeremy Corbyn’s Coventry speech didn’t seem to settle anything either.