Labour backlash as Corbyn endorses customs union

Jeremy Corbyn’s decision to endorse staying in a customs union with the EU provoked derision in one of Labour’s key northern strongholds yesterday.

Many families in Doncaster – a town synonymous with heavy industry, mining and the railways – have backed the party for generations.

But after the South Yorkshire town heavily backed Leave in the 2016 referendum, many locals feel Labour no longer represents their views.

Mother-of-two Beverley Smith, 55, a retail manager, said: ‘Corbyn is wrong. There’s a big wide world out there we can trade with. The people voted heavily for Brexit because they know what they want.

‘I know quite a few who voted Conservative for the first time in the general election last year. People’s will to come out of Europe is stronger than their support for Labour.

‘So many people down south have no idea what’s going on in the North and what everyone here has to say.’

Dyed-in-the-wool Labour member Ron Wales, 77, a retired engineer and grandfather, said: ‘He’d be wrong on the customs union. I voted out – I’m a big believer in us being on our own.’ Ukip supporter Nigel Berry, 59, who runs the fish stall he has worked on since he was 13, said: ‘I’ve seen how the EU has destroyed Britain’s fishing industry. People voted to leave completely, not to stay in in some form. Corbyn has sold out his core voters.’

Industrial worker Michael Smith, 46, whose father and grandfather were miners, said: ‘Labour are afraid to listen to the common people. Are we allowed to get what we wanted on Europe or not?’ On immigration, he added: ‘We’ve run out of jobs, houses, why not put our own people first?’ 

Jeremy Corbyn delivered his speech on Brexit at the National Transport Design Centre at Coventry University on Monday