Nigel Farage slates Jeremy Corbyn's 'neutral' Brexit stance

23 November 2019, 16:35

Farage criticised Corbyn&squot;s "neutral" stance on Brexit
Farage criticised Corbyn's "neutral" stance on Brexit. Picture: PA

Nigel Farage has said the Labour election campaign is "bombing" after Jeremy Corbyn announced his "neutral" position on Brexit.

The Brexit Party leader said it was "astonishing" for Mr Corbyn to choose not to campaign for either Leave or Remain in the event of a second referendum.

He claimed the Labour Party leader's stance showed a "failure of leadership," as he visited a pub and market stallholders in Hartlepool.

Speaking at The King Johns Tavern, Mr Farage said: "Brexit is the defining issue of our day and the leader of the Labour Party is going to abstain from that.

"I find that astonishing. It's a failure of leadership. It's also a reflection that he knows his own parliamentary party are Remainers . . . so he's still trying to stay on that fence and it's not working.

"And I think, frankly, people would say just come down on one side or the other and I think my feeling is the Labour campaign is bombing and that last night made it worse."

Mr Farage spoke with voters in a Hartlepool pub
Mr Farage spoke with voters in a Hartlepool pub. Picture: PA

Jeremy Corbyn announced his "neutral" stance during Friday night's televised leadership debate, which included the heads of the UK's four main parties - the Conservatives, Labour, Liberal Democrats and SNP.

He said: "I will adopt, as prime minister, if I am at the time, a neutral stance [in a confirmatory referendum] so that I can credibly carry out the results of that to bring our communities and country together rather than continuing an endless debate about the EU and Brexit."

Boris Johnson labelled the position "absurd," however the Labour leader defended himself on Saturday morning saying his decision was "a sign of strength" and "maturity."

The Brexit Party leader joined canvassers in the north east town
The Brexit Party leader joined canvassers in the north east town. Picture: PA

"My role as the Labour prime minister would be to ensure that another referendum is carried out in a fair way, that the offers put are fair, and that I will carry out the result of that referendum," he added.

"I think this is actually a sensible way forward that can bring people together."

Nigel Farage also suggested the Brexit Party could win Labour seats in the upcoming general election, saying patriotic voters in towns like Hartlepool would vote for his party due to their views of Mr Corbyn.

He said: "I think the Brexit issue is huge; I think the patriotic issue is huge; I think Corbyn is not seen as being very patriotic and I think if Conservative voters in these areas realise that we're the challenger and come to us, then we could [beat Labour], absolutely."

Nigel Farage spoke with market stallholders
Nigel Farage spoke with market stallholders. Picture: PA

Mr Farage added that resolving Brexit would improve relations between voters and their MPs and help restore trust in politics.

"What was interesting though, and I felt it when I did it, from the audience last night [in the BBC debate] was the sheer level of hostility.

"This is real, people are very angry with politics, their faith and trust in Parliament, politicians, has never, ever been lower and goodness me it shows.

"This is why, actually, getting Brexit done properly will allow us to get people to believe that if they vote for something it might actually happen."

The Brexit Party leader visited Hartlepool on his battle bus, visiting the Market Hall in Middleton Grange shopping centre and joining canvassers on doorsteps around the north east town.