'No-deal would leave UK at mercy of US'
A no-deal Brexit would leave the UK at the mercy of US President Donald Trump, Jeremy Corbyn has claimed. Writing in the Independent, the Labour party leader accused the PM of "cosying up to Trump" because "no-deal Brexit is really a Trump-deal Brexit".
On Monday, PM Boris Johnson said he was "marginally more optimistic" about striking a new Brexit deal with the EU. Corbyn is due to meet other party leaders on Tuesday to discuss his plans to avert a no-deal Brexit.
The Labour leader wants to call a vote of no confidence in Johnson's government when Parliament returns after its summer recess. Speaking on BBC Breakfast, shadow Brexit secretary Keir Starmer said it was important to agree on a course of action before MPs return to Westminster.
"We mustn't lose sight of the fact that if we don't agree a united plan and implement it next week, then the chances of leaving without a deal go up." "That will have terrible consequences for our country," he added. Starmer also called Boris Johnson's approach "reckless" and said that he is "pursuing a course that is likely to end in no deal".
Corbyn hopes to take over as a temporary prime minister, seek an extension to Britain's 31 October EU departure date in order to avert a no-deal exit, and then call a general election. Asked at the end of the G7 summit in France about the possibility of MPs thwarting plans to leave the EU at the end of October, Johnson said: "I think it's the job of everybody in Parliament to get this thing done.
"I think it's what the people want, I also think, by the way, it's what our friends and partners on the other side of the Channel want - they want it over." But Corbyn said he believes the EU referendum result is being hijacked by those wanting what he called a "bankers' Brexit". He wrote in the Independent: "The Tories are going out with their begging bowl to billionaire hedge funders to raise cash for an autumn general election.
"The chaos and uncertainty caused by a no-deal Brexit is a potential goldmine for speculators betting against the pound." He added: "[No-deal Brexit] won't return sovereignty, it will put us at the mercy of Trump and the big US corporations dying to get their teeth into our NHS, sound the death knell for our steel industry and strip back our food standards and animal welfare protections."
Media captionPrime Minister Boris Johnson: Brexit "is a matter for parliamentarians to get right ourselves" The Labour leader also said the Conservatives would seek to reduce the power of workers, undermine consumer protections, and also cut bankers' tax bills and the regulations that stop them abusing their power.
He said he would "do everything necessary" to prevent no-deal Brexit and would discuss all options with other party leaders to "stop this no-deal disaster in its tracks". The SNP, Liberal Democrats, Change UK, Plaid Cymru and Green Party have all accepted the invitation to meet Mr Corbyn and discuss his proposals.
However, Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson has said Corbyn's proposals risk jeopardising a potential vote of no confidence in the government. In a letter to the Labour leader, she said his insistence on being interim leader meant there was a danger not enough MPs would support the vote.
Responding to Corbyn's newspaper article, Conservative Party Chairman James Cleverly said: "The alternative to delivering Brexit is Jeremy Corbyn in Downing Street, a man who would wreck the economy, break up our Union, is soft on crime and won't stand up for Britain.
He insisted only Johnson and the Conservatives can provide the leadership needed to deliver Brexit by 31 October, "whatever the circumstances".
