Corbyn: ‘The worst of all worlds’

Theresa May’s Brexit deal is a “miserable failure of negotiation” which will put jobs at risk, Jeremy Corbyn said after EU leaders rubberstamped the draft agreement.

Labour will oppose the package in Parliament and work with MPS from other parties to block a no-deal Brexit, Mr Corbyn confirmed.

“This is a bad deal for the country,” the Labour leader said. “It is the result of a miserable failure of negotiation that leaves us with the worst of all worlds.

“It gives us less say over our future and puts jobs and living standards at risk.”

Shadow Justice Secretary Richard Burgon said: “Theresa May needs to wake up and smell the coffee, ditch this deal and come back with something better.”

Challenged on BBC’S Andrew Marr Show about the likelihood of Labour securing the general election it seeks, Mr Burgon said: “I think the age of the experts is over. The age of political certainty is over.” If there is not an election, Labour is keeping all options open, including another referendum on Brexit, although Mr Burgon suggested another referendum may not even take place until after the UK has left the EU.

“We don’t know when such a referendum, if it takes place, would take place,” he said. “Would it take place before we left the EU? Would it take place after we left the EU?”

Former minister Caroline Flint hit out at Labour colleagues calling for another referendum, saying it was an “11th-hour attempt to overturn the result” in 2016.

The Prime Minister is likely to need support from Labour MPS in Leave-supporting areas to get her deal through parliament, but Wigan’s Lisa Nandy said it was “inconceivable” that she would back it.

Ms Nandy told Sky News that Article 50 should be extended to allow “dialogue and consensus” with the public.