Jeremy Corbyn says freedom of movement from the EU would never ‘totally’ come to an end under a Labour government if Brexit goes ahead
- Jeremy Corbyn: ‘I don’t think free movement totally could ever come to an end’
- His comments in a Sky News interview today go further than Labour manifesto
- Manifesto said if UK leaves EU free movement would be ‘subject to negotiations’
Jeremy Corbyn today said freedom of movement from the European Union would never ‘totally’ end under a Labour government if the UK goes ahead with its divorce from the bloc.
His comments appear to go further than what Labour has pledged in its 2019 general election manifesto in which it said free movement would be ‘subject to negotiations’.
Meanwhile, Mr Corbyn again refused to say how he would vote at the second Brexit referendum which Labour has committed to holding if it forms a government after December 12.
He said people would have to ‘wait and see’ how he votes after he previously said that he would remain neutral during the second national ballot.
Jeremy Corbyn told Sky News in an interview broadcast today that people would have to ‘wait and see’ which way he would vote in a second referendum
Mr Corbyn also suggested free movement of people would not ‘totally’ come to an end even if the UK leaves the EU under a Labour government
If Mr Corbyn becomes prime minister he will facilitate a second referendum, pitching a Labour-negotiated Brexit deal against Remain.
In the party’s manifesto it said that if people vote to stay in the EU then ‘freedom of movement would continue’.
But if they vote to leave the EU then the matter of border control would be ‘subject to negotiations’ with Brussels.
However, in a signal that the party could choose to keep some form of free movement, the manifesto added: ‘We recognise the social and economic benefits that free movement has brought both in terms of EU citizens here and UK citizens abroad – and we will seek to protect those rights’.
Mr Corbyn suggested during an interview with Sophy Ridge on Sky News this morning that some form of free movement would stay under Labour.
Asked if his Brexit deal would include free movement of people or if it would come to an end, he replied: ‘I don’t think free movement totally could ever come to an end because of the relationship between families, between Britain and Europe, the needs of all of our services.’
Told that many people voted at the EU referendum in 2016 to end free movement, Mr Corbyn said: ‘I don’t think they voted to have 40,000 nurse vacancies in Britain, I don’t think they voted to lose all those European doctors and I do think we have to recognise the rights of those many European Union nationals that have made their homes here and made a fantastic contribution to our country and actually helped us run our health service.
‘At the moment all of that is under threat because of the uncertainty. Our whole process will bring uncertainty to an end.’
Labour would decide who it would campaign at a second referendum at a crunch meeting of activists, MPs and officials but Mr Corbyn has suggested he would not choose a side.
Asked if he would vote in the referendum he wants to hold, Mr Corbyn said he would act as an ‘honest broker’.
Pushed on whether he would vote he said ‘yeah, yeah’ but he would not be drawn on whether he would vote for his deal or for Remain.
‘You’ll have to wait and see,’ he said.