John McDonnell MP, Labour’s Shadow Chancellor, responding to Boris Johnson’s conference speech, said:

“The Brexit proposals reportedly being considered by Boris Johnson are neither credible nor workable. They are a cynical attempt to force through a No Deal Brexit.

“Any responsible Prime Minister would have spent the past three months trying to build a consensus in Parliament and across the EU in order to break the deadlock. However, Boris Johnson has neither the intention nor ability to negotiate a deal or protect jobs and communities across the United Kingdom.

“The Conservatives have failed on Brexit, failed on the economy, failed on housing and failed on schools.

“How dare he offer more tax cuts to the rich and corporations, when just yesterday we heard that 726 homeless people died on our streets last year, and there are four and a half million children living in poverty, with wages below the level that they were at the time of the 2008 economic crash.

“This crisis the Tories have plunged our country into can only be settled by letting the people decide. We need a general election, followed by a public vote, as soon as the threat of No Deal is off the table.”