Jeremy Corbyn told supporters he would challenge the Government ‘all the way’ over Europe – before later telling the Prime Minister to ‘jog on’.
Speaking at a raucous party rally in Liverpool on Saturday night, the Labour leader said his party would reject Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s deal with the European Union as he mobilised for a general election.
And later tweeted: ‘Jog on Boris Johnson with your daft ideas.’
It came just hours after The Commons voted 322 to 306 in favour of an amendment postponing a decision on the PM’s deal, and activating the Benn Act – a Remainer law that compels him to send a letter by midnight asking Brussels for a delay.
Speaking at a raucous party rally in Liverpool on Saturday night, the Labour leader (pictured in Liverpool on Saturday) said his party would reject Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s deal with the European Union as he mobilised for a general election
Mr Corbyn, who travelled up to Liverpool from the vote on the Government’s EU deal in Parliament earlier today, was interrupted regularly during his speech with chants of ‘Oh Jeremy Corbyn!’ by the crowd, numbering a few hundred strong
Mr Corbyn delivers a speech at the Grand Central Hall in Liverpool, after the Letwin amendment, which seeks to avoid a no-deal Brexit on October 31
Mr Corbyn speaks to a crowd at a Labour rally at Grand Central, Liverpool city centre on Saturday evening
After his speech, Mr Corbyn tweeted to say: ‘Jog on Boris Johnson with your daft ideas’
Mr Corbyn said: ‘And he came with his plan, well we’ve got answers to his plan for our relationship to Europe because that plan was all about thumping our workers’ rights, taking away consumer protections, damaging our environment, damaging the Good Friday Agreement.
‘But the real purpose behind it is, what they want for the future, which is, as I said in my speech today, is what he’s done today, if he succeeds is fire the starting gun in a race to the bottom.
‘We will challenge them all the way, in Parliament next week, we challenge them in crashing out of the EU and we as a movement will come together, those that voted leave or remain have all got a place in the Labour Party and the labour movement.
‘What unites us is our determination for socialism.’
Mr Corbyn, who travelled up to Liverpool from the vote on the Government’s EU deal in Parliament earlier today, was interrupted regularly during his speech with chants of ‘Oh Jeremy Corbyn!’ by the crowd, numbering a few hundred strong.
He was cheered and applauded by supporters as he spoke about the Iraq war, arms sales to Saudia Arabia and austerity.
Mr Corbyn (pictured in Liverpool on Saturday) said Labour was committed to nationalising, ‘mail, rail, water and the National Grid’ – and promised decent housing and schools and an end to prescription charges
He also said the rich had got richer and the poor, poorer – and there would be tax rises for the wealthiest 5 per cent of the population (Mr Corbyn is pictured in Liverpool on Saturday)
Mr Corbyn said Labour was committed to nationalising, ‘mail, rail, water and the National Grid’ – and promised decent housing and schools and an end to prescription charges.
He also said the rich had got richer and the poor, poorer – and there would be tax rises for the wealthiest 5 per cent of the population.
Mr Corbyn said: ‘Surely to goodness in the fifth richest country in the world, we can offer our young people something better than a future where they are told they will be poorer than their parents’ generation and they must make their provision for health, for housing for education for pensions and everything else.
‘Well, we’ve got a different answer to that and the answer is in a short word, it’s called socialism.’
Mr Corbyn told supporters to get themselves to marginal constituencies to campaign so the party is ‘up and raring to go’ when the election is called.
He added: ‘This will be an election campaign like no other.
‘And I’ll tell you what, one thing I’m very, very certain about, is that nobody but nobody, but nobody will be able to say in the general election of 2019, 2020 whenever it’s going to be, ‘There wasn’t a choice’.
‘Oh yes, there will be a choice.
‘I am utterly determined, utterly determined that we are ready for an election and to win an election.’
In the ‘Super Saturday’ showdown in the House of Commons today, Boris Johnson complained he was being prevented from forcing a ‘meaningful’ decision by Letwin amendment
After the result, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn demanded the PM ‘obeys the law’ and asks the EU for an extension
The Liberal Democrats claimed to have ‘gatecrashed’ the Liverpool event – with a van circling the venue with a mobile electronic billboard carrying the slogan: ‘You can’t stop Tory Brexit with Labour Brexit. Only Lib Dems will stop Brexit’
Outside, the Liberal Democrats claimed to have ‘gatecrashed’ the event – with a van circling the venue with a mobile electronic billboard carrying the slogan: ‘You can’t stop Tory Brexit with Labour Brexit. Only Lib Dems will stop Brexit.’
After the rally, Boris Johnson tried to distance himself from a legally required request for a Brexit extension by stressing to the EU it was sent to Brussels at Parliament’s bidding.
After suffering an embarrassing defeat in the Commons over his Brexit plans, the Prime Minister got a senior diplomat to send an unsigned photocopy of the call by MPs to delay withdrawal from the bloc.
In a second note to European Council president Donald Tusk, the PM said a Brexit extension would be ‘deeply corrosive’.
The stance is likely to spark a fierce political row.
After the letter asking for a Brexit delay was sent to the EU, Mr Corbyn tweeted: ‘I told the Prime Minister to obey the law and despite his petulant posturing and bluster he finally has – he’s asked for an extension.
‘His damaging deal was defeated.’