Corbyn says he WILL meet May if MPs vote to delay Brexit tonight: Major climbdown from Labour leader says he DOES want to put off EU Brexit – but only by three months
Jeremy
Jeremy Corbyn has finally shown his hand and admitted today that he wants to delay Brexit by three months.
The Labour leader also performed a u-turn and says he will meet with the Prime Minister if MPs vote to ‘take no deal off the table’.
Today
The move, led by former Labour Cabinet minister Yvette Cooper, also has the public backing of ten Conservative MPs – with the result after 7pm tonight said to be on a ‘knife-edge’.
Mr Corbyn has said he will support it and ordered his MPs to do the same – but will seek to shorten the nine-month extension proposed by Ms Cooper to three months.
This would mean Brexit would be delayed from March 29 to late June.
He said Labour would back the Cooper amendment to protect the country from a no-deal Brexit – but it would also tie Theresa May’s hands if she tries to renegotiate the unpopular Irish backstop.
Addressing the Commons today he said: ‘The Labour Party will back the amendment tonight because to crash out without a deal would be deeply damaging for industry and economy.
‘That’s why the Chancellor says it would be irresponsible. I say to her now that in backing her amendment, we’re backing a short window of three months to allow time for renegotiation.’
