Labour has ruled out pacts and coalitions if the party needs to run a minority government after next week’s general election.

As the opinion polls show a further narrowing of the Conservatives’ lead over the party, Jeremy Corbyn and the shadow foreign secretary, Emily Thornberry, said there would be no negotiations or deals over policy with the Liberal Democrats and the Greens if Labour was the biggest party but without an overall majority.

Their interventions were delivered a week before the general election at a rally in Basildon, Essex, and will be seen as a way of combating Conservative claims that a vote for Labour and other parties would lead to a “coalition of chaos”.

Asked if he would consider negotiating with other parties if there was a hung parliament, Corbyn said: “We are not doing deals, we are not doing coalitions, we are not doing any of these things. We are fighting to win this election.”

Thornberry went further and said: “We are fighting to win and we are fighting to win a majority. If we end up in a position where we are in a minority, then we will go ahead and put forward a Queen’s speech and a budget and, if people want to vote for it, then good, but if people don’t want to vote for it, then they are going to have to go back and speak to their constituents and explain to them why we have a Tory government instead. Those are the conversations we have had. No deals.”

In a speech that attempted to portray Theresa May’s campaign and manifesto as “weak and wobbly”, Corbyn accused Boris Johnson of lying to the public during the EU referendum last year.

General election: Leaving EU with no deal would be economic disaster, says Corbyn - live Read more

“We know the three Tories in whose hands Theresa May has placed our national future – David Davis, Boris Johnson and Liam Fox. Now, you know I don’t do personal attacks, so let me just say that in Labour’s Brexit team, there is no one who has fibbed to the British people about spending an extra £350m a week on the NHS because of Brexit and nobody who has promised to use Brexit to slash workers’ rights or slash tax for big corporations in a continental race to the bottom,” he said.

He again criticised May’s claims that no deal would be better than a bad deal in EU negotiations, which will begin 11 days after the election. “Britain is leaving the EU, but let’s be clear, there is no such thing as ‘no deal’. If we leave without a positive agreement because we have needlessly alienated everyone, we still have to trade with the EU. But on what terms?” he said.

“Theresa May says no deal is better than a bad deal. Let’s be clear: no deal is in fact a bad deal. It is the worst of all deals because it would leave us with World Trade Organisation tariffs and restrictions instead of the access to European markets we need. That would mean slapping tariffs on the goods we export – an extra 10% on cars – with the risk that key manufacturers would leave for the European mainland, taking skilled jobs with them.”



Corbyn referred to the party’s improved fortunes, saying that a movement had sprung up across the country. “The cynics have started this election saying nothing will change, but you know what has happened? Thousands and thousands and thousands of people are coming to our campaign offices and have gone out there door-knocking and donating small sums of money. There’s a movement out there that wants something very different,” he said.

A poll by YouGov for the Times has suggested that Labour has cut the Conservatives’ lead to just three points, making a hung parliament more than possible if repeated in a week’s time. Critics have questioned YouGov’s data in the face of rival polls show a Tory lead of 12%.

Corbyn refused to be drawn on the favourable polls, saying he would wait to see the verdict of the British people next Thursday. However, he questioned May’s integrity and asked voters to consider who they trusted more.



The Tories have overseen an “extraordinary meltdown” of their manifesto, Corbyn said.

“Having declared war on Britain’s pensioners, it is now all but impossible to find anybody who can tell you what Conservative party policy actually is on the crucial issue of social care or how many million people stand to lose their winter fuel payments.

“The older generation is being reminded of a simple truth in British politics, you can’t trust the Tories.,” he said to applause from a partisan audience.

“You can’t trust the Tories with your pension, with your tax credits, with your personal independence payments, with your national insurance contributions – one U-turn, broken promise after another.

“The choice is who you trust to fight for your future, a weak and wobbly Tory party which can’t even stick to its own manifesto commitments for a week, which always, always, always puts the wealthy and big business first. Or a Labour team with clear principles, proven confidence, which will put jobs, living standards and our common interest first.”

The rally was billed as a way of introducing Labour’s Brexit negotiating team. The Labour leader was joined on stage at Pitsea Leisure Centre by shadow ministers Keir Starmer, Barry Gardiner, Lady Smith and Thornberry – and he said they would not begin negotiations with threats, unlike the Tories.

“The Conservatives have left us isolated and marginalized increasing the chances of crashing out of the EU without a deal,” he said.

Once again, a journalist was booed by a partisan audience at a Corbyn rally. The reporter had asked if Labour might consider asking Sinn Féin MPs to take up their seats to support a minority Labour government.



Thornberry asked the audience not to shout down journalists “however stupid the question”, a response greeted with laughter and cheers.



At the last election, Labour came third behind the Tories and Ukip in Basildon South, where the Conservative Stephen Metcalfe is defending a majority of 7,692.



Corbyn will seek to turn the election focus on to the economy on Friday, promising Labour would create a million jobs spread across every region through a National Transformation Fund, National Investment Bank and network of Regional Development Banks.

“When Labour talks about job creation we mean decent jobs, jobs which

pay a real living wage, which people can get by on, and which give

people a sense of pride and purpose,” he will say.

“Labour will invest to drive growth across the whole of Britain, creating wealth which is shared across our country, rather than concentrated in the hands of the few.”

