The Labour leader also attacked Theresa May’s proposed Brexit deal during a Sky News appearance
Jeremy Corbyn ruled out calling for an immediate second referendum of the UK’s European Union membership but confirmed that Labour will not back Theresa May’s proposed Brexit deal as it stands, speaking Sunday morning.
The Labour leader also claimed that he did not know how he would vote in the event of a People’s Vote during the interview Sky News’ Sophy Ridge, despite having voted for Remain in 2016.
Asked the possibility of a second referendum, Corbyn said: “It’s an option for the future but it’s not an option for today, if there was a referendum tomorrow what’s it going to be on, what’s the question going to be?”
Adding: “I don’t know how I am going to vote, what the options would be at that time.”
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn says a second referendum is "an option for the future but not an option for today"
Follow live updates and analysis here: https://t.co/sNm2BeCNmS pic.twitter.com/GnhDZWeurX
— Politics Hub with Sophy Ridge (@SkyPoliticsHub) November 18, 2018
Corbyn’s appearance comes as the prime minister faces pressure from both sides of her party on the deal. Since a group of senior Tories resigned on Thursday, a number of backbench MPs have submitted no confidence letters in Theresa May, with it believed the figure is close to the 48 required to trigger a leadership ballot.
The Labour leader – who is a longterm Eurosceptic – claimed that he would have been able to negotiate a better deal than May’s team had, and called on the PM to go back to the EU to secure a more favourable agreement for the UK.
He said: “We are saying to the Government, you do not have a majority in parliament for this. You don’t have a majority of support in the country. You have to go back and do something better.
“We have got to get in place a permanent customs arrangement with the EU.”
Asked if Labour was offering enough leadership over Brexit, Corbyn said that his party was unable to vote down any would-be deal alone, so it was up to Theresa May to secure the “best deal” she could.
“We couldn’t stop it because we don’t have the votes in parliament to do so,” he said.
“There was a referendum in 2016, a majority voted to leave the EU, there are many reasons why people voted. I don’t think you call a referendum and then say you don’t like the result and go away from it. You’ve got to understand why people voted and negotiate the best deal you can.”
