Corbyn promises to get Brexit sorted

Jeremy Corbyn has accused Boris Johnson of trying to 'hijack' the UK's departure from the European Union to unleash 'Thatcherism on steroids' as he claimed Labour would resolve Brexit in six months.

Setting out Labour's Brexit policy in a speech in the swing seat of Harlow in Essex on Tuesday morning, Corbyn claimed Johnson wanted to 'sell out' the NHS in a post-Brexit trade deal with the US and 'strip away' the rights of workers - accusations fiercely denied by the Tories.

He tried to seize control of Johnson's Brexit message of 'get Brexit done' as he said a Labour government would 'get Brexit sorted' by the middle of next year. 

However, he failed to rule out the possibility of revoking Article 50 as the potential price of forming a coalition with the Liberal Democrats if there is a hung Parliament, reports dailymail.co.uk.
Labour is campaigning in the run up to the election on December 12 on a platform of staying neutral on Brexit.

If Corbyn becomes PM he would then negotiate a new divorce deal with the EU before facilitating a second referendum. That referendum would pitch Corbyn's Brexit deal against Remain and Labour would decide which way to campaign in the weeks leading up to the national ballot.

Corbyn also used the speech to sound the alarm about what he believes are the risks of doing a trade deal with the US as he claimed it would likely lead to lower food standards which could mean maggots and rat hairs in produce. 

Speaking in Harlow, Mr Corbyn said: 'This threat to our NHS isn't a mistake. It's not happening by accident. The threat is there because Boris Johnson's Conservatives want to hijack Brexit to sell out the NHS and sell out working people by stripping away their rights.

'Given the chance, they'll run down our rights at work our entitlements to holidays, breaks and leave.'Given the chance, they'll slash food standards to US levels where "acceptable levels" of rat hairs in paprika and maggots in orange juice are allowed and they'll put chlorinated chicken on our supermarket shelves.'And given the chance, they'll water down the rules on air pollution and our environment that keep us safe.'

Corbyn claimed Johnson wants there to be a 'race to the bottom in standards and protections' so that the UK can move to a 'deregulated American model of how to run the economy'. He added: 'What Boris Johnson's Conservatives want is to hijack Brexit to unleash Thatcherism on steroids on our society.

'The Thatcher government's attack on the working people of our country left scars that have never healed and communities that have never recovered.'Corbyn said the Tories 'know they can't win support for what they're planning to do in the name of Thatcherism so they're trying to do it under the banner of Brexit instead'. 

Corbyn's references to Mrs Thatcher are likely to have been designed to shore up Labour support in Leave-voting working-class areas of the country where the former Tory PM is remembered with anger. Leave-voting seats which are currently held by Labour are key to both main parties' hopes of winning a majority on December 12 with Mr Johnson expected to aggressively pursue them.