John McDonnell shuts down prospect of Labour backing Boris Johnson's Brexit deal
2 min read
John McDonnell has dampened hopes of Labour supporting any Brexit deal signed off by Boris Johnson.
The Shadow Chancellor told the Mirror that any Conservative Brexit deal would fall short of Labour’s demands on worker and environmental rights, and would be unlikely to gain his party's backing.
Mr McDonnell said: "We’ll look at what he brings back but the reality is it’s not going to be what we sought."
And he added: "We’re not going to allow him to do a deal which will basically allow him to sell the country out to [Donald] Trump.”
The Shadow Chancellor also ruled out Labour entering a coalition at the next election, instead claiming that if no party gained a majority, Labour would form a minority government.
If this was not possible and Labour could not pass legislation, McDonnell said they would go back to the country in another general election.
John McDonnell meanwhile revealed that he believes the next Labour leader should be a woman.
“It’s high time to have a woman,” he said.
In an interview with The Times, the Shadow Chancellor talked up "the next generation" of female Labour figures, naming Shadow Business Secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey, Shadow Education Secretary Angela Rayner, Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry and Shadow Equalities Secretary Dawn Butler.
The Labour Party is yet to have a female leader, the only major UK party not to do so.
The Shadow Chancellor also outlined plans to axe the non-domiciled tax status in his first budget were Labour to form a government as part of “fair taxation system” that was no longer offensive to "ordinary people".
The policy would end the tax advantages enjoyed by those who live in the UK but whose permanent home, or domicile, is outside of the UK.
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