Labour leader would negotiate new deal with EU, which would be put to a public vote alongside remain

This article is more than 9 months old

This article is more than 9 months old

Jeremy Corbyn would take a “neutral stance” in a future Brexit referendum, he has announced, after facing mounting pressure in recent days to pick a side.

Appearing in a special BBC Question Time programme, in which Boris Johnson was attacked over racism and Jo Swinson found herself on the back foot over Brexit, Corbyn confirmed for the first time he would not campaign either for leave or remain.

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All the leaders faced robust questioning from the studio audience in Sheffield during the two-hour live debate, during which:

Swinson faced sustained criticism over her record in the coalition and the Liberal Democrats’ revoke article 50 policy.

Johnson was challenged over his trustworthiness, accused of fomenting racism and questioned over an unpublished report on Russian interference.

Corbyn was confronted over antisemitism and his sweeping renationalisation plans.

The Scottish National party leader, Nicola Sturgeon, confirmed she could support a Corbyn government in exchange for a Scottish independence referendum.

Labour’s Brexit policy is to negotiate a new deal within three months of coming to power – and then put it to a referendum, alongside an option to remain in the EU, within six months.

Despite the vast majority of Labour members being pro-remain, Corbyn has always declined to say how he would campaign. He had previously suggested Labour’s position would be determined at a special conference once a new Brexit deal had been agreed.

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He was pressed repeatedly about it by Johnson when the two men met for a head to head debate earlier this week – and the Tories had seized on his refusal to give an answer.

When he was asked about it once again on Friday, the Labour leader revealed that his plan was to take a “neutral stance”.

An article he wrote for the Guardian in September was seen as the strongest sign yet he would stay neutral, but he has until now refused to confirm his stance.

The Labour leader later tweeted that his approach would be to act as an “honest broker” in a referendum, and “not campaign on either side”.

The prime minister, who appeared last of the four, was given few opportunities to rehearse his “get Brexit done” catchphrase.

Instead, Johnson faced a string of questions about the state of the health service – and whether the public could trust him.

He refused to apologise for his past newspaper articles, including a column that claimed women wearing burqas “look like letter boxes,” and another that referred to “tank topped bumboys”.

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“I’ve written many millions of words as a journalist in my life, and I’ve genuinely never intended to cause hurt or pain to anybody,” he said. “If you go through all my articles with a fine tooth comb there is no doubt that you can find things that can be made to seem offensive.” He added: “I defend my right to speak out.”

Appearing on Sky News after the programme had aired, the foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, and shadow transport secretary, Andy McDonald, argued furiously over the records of their respective parties on racism.



The pair appeared to square up to each other as McDonald accused Raab of kicking the issue of Islamophobia into the long grass. Raab responded: “Two parties in this country’s history have been investigated by the Equalities and Human Rights Commission, Labour under Corbyn and the BNP.”

In the debate, Johnson also rejected the idea he had suppressed the intelligence and security commission’s report into Russian interference, saying he had decided “a while ago” not to publish it immediately.

“There is absolutely no evidence that I know of to show any interference in any British electoral event,” he said, adding that the idea the referendum had been fixed in any way was “Bermuda triangle stuff”.

Pressed repeatedly about the funding squeeze facing the NHS, Johnson pointed out he had met many nurses and doctors since he became prime minister, and had plans to increase resources.

“Yes of course I understand that things have been tough in the NHS,” he said. “I know the massive, massive demand that the NHS faces – but we can only meet that demand if we have a dynamic economy.”

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Swinson faced a rough ride from the studio audience. As a former minister in the Conservative-led coalition government, she was asked about her party’s support for policies including fracking and the bedroom tax.

And she was ridiculed by one man for claiming during the early stages of the general election campaign that she could be prime minister – something she acknowledged had become more difficult since the Brexit party stood down in the Conservative-held seats the Lib Dems hoped to win.

But she was unrepentant about the Liberal Democrats’ Brexit policy. She said: “I don’t think you can accuse us of not being upfront about wanting to stop Brexit. We’ve been crystal clear about that from the very beginning.” And she insisted hers was the only party that could deprive the Tories of a majority.

Before the event kicked off, a large crowd of supporters gathered to welcome Corbyn. The Labour leader stopped to speak to them, brandishing a copy of the party’s manifesto.

Once in the studio, Corbyn faced a tough grilling from the audience, with questions on issues including antisemitism, nationalisation and Brexit. One audience member raised the treatment of the Jewish Labour MP Ruth Smeeth, which subsequently led to the expulsion of the activist Marc Wadsworth from the party.

Sturgeon, who spoke after Corbyn, confirmed she would be prepared to offer her party’s support to a Labour government on an informal basis, in exchange for the confirmation that Labour would allow Scotland to hold another independence referendum.

Corbyn had earlier said he would not support a poll in the first two or more years of the next parliament – and that he would first like the chance to implement the £100bn increase in investment Labour has promised for Scotland.

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Sturgeon suggested he might change his mind, faced with the prospect of being able to implement his programme for government.

“Having heard Jeremy Corbyn, do you think he’s going to walk away from the chance to end austerity, to protect the NHS, to stop universal credit, simply because he wants, for a couple of years, to prevent Scotland to have the right to self-determination?” she said.

“Jeremy Corbyn supports the right of self-determination for almost every other country in the world. I’m not sure he’s going to compromise the chance to have a Labour government on that issue.”

The Tories quickly seized on her remarks, retweeting a mock up of a poster with Corbyn peeking out of Sturgeon’s pocket – an echo of a similar poster used against Ed Miliband in the 2015 general election campaign.