Jeremy Corbyn hits out at ‘ridiculous’ Boris Johnson call for him to ‘man-up’ and back snap election
2 min read
Jeremy Corbyn has criticised Boris Johnson’s “ridiculous” language after the Prime Minister urged him to “man-up” and vote for a snap General Election.
The Labour leader said his party remained concerned about the PM’s refusal to rule out a no-deal Brexit and wanted “all vestiges” of it removed before agreeing to a fresh vote.
It comes after Mr Johnson accused Labour of being “split from top to bottom” on the plan, before adding: “Time for Corbyn - man up. Let's have an election on December 12.”
The exchange comes after the PM said MPs would be handed more time to consider his Brexit plan if they support his plan on Monday.
But speaking on a trip to Scotland, the opposition leader said: “I would ask the Prime Minister to stop using such ridiculous language and recognise that there are deep concerns that he has not removed a no-deal exit from the agenda.
“He has not removed it from the terms of his Bill, he has stopped Parliament from even debating the Bill after Parliament rejected his unreasonable timetable for it - and I would suggest he engages with Parliament on the genuine concerns of MPs that jobs would be at risk, medicines and lives put at risk, trade put at risk by a no deal crashing out from the EU.”
“We will be very happy to fight an election once all vestiges of a no-deal exit from the EU have been taken off the table.”
Mr Corbyn added his party could not decide whether to back an election until the European Union had confirmed whether it would grant Britain a Brexit extension until 31 January, or for a shorter period.
Mr Johnson needs opposition votes in order to secure the two-thirds Commons majority required to force a ballot.
Speaking on Friday, he said: “Let's be clear, this parliament has been sitting now doing absolutely nothing but delay Brexit, pushing it out with delay after delay for three-and-a-half years.
“And I think for MPs across the House to have any credibility about delivering Brexit they now have to commit to an election 12 December. So that's what we're pushing for.”
The exchange comes as the Sunday Times reports on a split between top Corbyn adviser Karie Murphy, who supports a general election, and those in support of John McDonnell, who want to rule out a no-deal Brexit first.
The paper also claimed that its campaign would focus mainly on boosting public spending, including extending free dental care and nationalising energy, with less time devoted to Brexit and crime.
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