Labour leader criticized for Brexit neutrality plan

LONDON — Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn is defending his decision to remain neutral in a possible future referendum on Britain’s membership in the European Union.

Corbyn said Saturday that he plans to be an “honest broker” in a Brexit referendum rather than urge voters to remain in the EU or leave under terms of a new deal he would negotiate if he becomes prime minister after the Dec. 12 election.

He said at a campaign event in Sheffield that “my role as the Labour prime minister would be to ensure that is carried out in a fair way … and that I will carry out the result of that referendum.”

Corbyn announced Friday night he would be neutral, a position assailed Saturday by rivals on both sides of the Brexit divide.

He had been challenged by Prime Minister Boris Johnson to clarify his Brexit plan. Labour’s position is more complex than the pro-Brexit policy espoused by Johnson and his Conservatives, who seek to win parliamentary approval for the deal already negotiated to leave the EU by Jan. 31.

Corbyn said that if he comes to power, Labour will negotiate a new deal with EU officials, then put that new deal to voters, who can choose between endorsing it or staying inside the 28-nation EU bloc. He said he plans to let voters decide the proposed referendum without him taking a position.

That view was ridiculed on the campaign trail Saturday.

Liberal Democratic leader Jo Swinson called it an abdication of the prime minister’s responsibility. Her party has vowed to halt Brexit by revoking Article 50, which triggered Britain’s withdrawal.

Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage, who advocates an immediate break with the EU, said the Labour Party is “bombing” with voters because of Corbyn’s vague position.

Jeremy Corbyn