London, August 20 (RHC)-- In a major speech outlining his policy on Brexit, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has slammed Prime Minister Boris Johnson as ‘Britain’s Trump’ and argued that Johnson will allow the US to destroy jobs and the health service if a post-Brexit ‘sweetheart deal’ is signed with Trump.
Corbyn made the speech during a visit to the marginal constituency of Corby. At the event, he said, “Boris Johnson’s government wants to use no-deal to create a tax haven for the super-rich on the shores of Europe and sign a sweetheart trade deal with Donald Trump,”.
Following Britain’s exit from the EU, some argue that Britain may be dependent on closer ties with the US, since the current administration is unlikely to look to other countries such as China and Russia as potential allies.
Corbyn warned about a potentially unequal US trade deal saying it would “destroy people’s jobs, push up food prices in the shops and open our NHS [public health system] to takeover by US private corporations...That’s a price Boris Johnson is willing to pay because it won’t be him and his wealthy friends paying it — it will be you.”
Corbyn’s concerns have been echoed by Global Justice charities, who are also concerned that Britain’s urgent need for a quick US deal could lead the UK into closer military cooperation and potentially war, pointing out that John Bolton is leading negotiations.
Asad Rehman from the ‘War on Want’ NGO said last week “John Bolton is national security negotiator and knows very little about the trade...he is dangling the hope of a fast-track trade deal in return for support for his hawkish plans.”
Also at the speech on Monday, Corbyn outlined his party’s Brexit policy, which focused on avoiding a ‘No deal’ brexit on October 31st. Corbyn stated that he has proposed to other party leaders that he should lead an interim government to negotiate a new withdrawal agreement, followed by a general election and a referendum on the terms of the exit deal.
Unlike some factions within Labour Party, mostly allied around deputy leader Tom Watson, Jeremy Corbyn has long committed to respecting the result of the EU referendum, but called for a closer post-Brexit relationship with the EU than that offered by the Conservative party.
Corbyn also addressed issues beyond Brexit, hoping that national discussion can soon return to class issues. He laid out key policies saying “We’ll bring rail, mail, water and the national grid into public ownership, so the essential utilities people rely on are run by and for the public — not shareholders...we’ll give tenants more power and security including controlling rents so dodgy landlords can’t rip them off. We’ll put workers on company boards and give the workforce a 10 per cent stake in large companies — paying a dividend of as much as £500 a year to each employee.”
Britain is set to crash out of the EU on October 31st, if the UK leaves without a withdrawl agreement, then all trade treaties with Europe would be suspended and the country is likely to face food and medicine shortages.
