NOTHING SMART ABOUT BETRAYING WORKERS

ANALYSIS

SMART or stupid? Jeremy Corbyn must think he is being quite cute by staying above the fray of the Brexit debate.

Just as independence entrenched divisions in Scotland (few have changed their minds in the five years since), so the Brexit faultines run deepest in Labour-held constituencies in northern England which voted Leave with big majorities.

An out-and-out Remain stance would make Labour vulnerable to a Brexit betrayal BY TORCUIL CRICHTON narrative and send voters to the open arms of Nigel Farage.

If this was a balancing act between principle and voters’ instincts, you would almost admire Corbyn’s deft handling of an issue that has blown-up the Tory Party.

But in truth is Labour is a Remain party led by someone with a Eurosceptic heart.

Voters, who have a great ability to smell through the telly, will scent that.

Corbyn’s core values have not changed much since the 1983 Labour manifesto promised to legislate “to prepare for Britain’s withdrawal from the EEC.”

The unreconciled left has always regarded the EU as a capitalist club, enabling multinationals to operate with only light-touch regulation and even lighter taxes.

The EU allows these things but also protects workers and citizens’ rights, ensuring one country does not undermine another’s workforce.

In a globalised world, where we need a continental-sized trading block to resist the power of free-market America and the growing muscle of China, staying neutral is not an option.

You could argue that Corbyn is sticking to his principles by offering to listen to voters.

Perhaps – but by being neutral on Europe he is betraying the interests of the workers he purports to defend.