Corbyn’s European Election Message: Let’s Not Talk About Brexit
Many of Corbyn’s activists want the party to campaign to stay in the European Union.
(Bloomberg) -- Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the opposition Labour Party, launched his party’s European election campaign on Thursday with a speech that, though it opened with a section on how Theresa May had handled Brexit negotiations, moved quickly to the domestic agenda.
“The real divide in our country is not how people voted in the EU referendum,’’ Corbyn said. “The real divide is between the many and the few.’’
Brexit is a difficult issue for Labour. Many of Corbyn’s activists want the party to campaign to stay in the European Union -- the first cheer Corbyn got on Thursday was when he mentioned the idea of a second referendum. But the party leadership fears losing voters who want to leave.
Its solution is to change the subject. Labour’s 28-page European election booklet devotes barely two pages to the subject of Brexit.
“We could allow ourselves to be defined only as ‘Remainers’ or ‘Leavers,’ labels that meant nothing to us only a few years ago,’’ Corbyn told his audience in Chatham, southeast England. “But where would that take us? Who wants to live in a country stuck in this endless loop?”
To contact the reporter on this story: Robert Hutton in Chatham, Kent at rhutton1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Thomas Penny, Alex Morales
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