Corbyn won’t side with Cameron on EU referendum: Labour won’t make THAT mistake again

Last Updated: March 1, 2016By

Corbyn attacked Cameron’s desire for a free market Europe, saying it contrasted with his vision of a Europe that protected the environment and industry [Image: Peter Powell/PA].

David Cameron could not have expected anything else from the Labour Party.

After Labour and the Tories campaigned side-by-side in the Scottish referendum campaign, nationalists labelled Labour as “Red Tories” – unfairly in the opinion of many observers – using the slur to win dozens of seats in the general election.

Cameron must have been delighted.

But Labour has learned from its mistake and will not be repeating the experience. In any case, Labour’s reasons for wishing to remain in the EU are a far cry from Cameron’s.

Jeremy Corbyn will be campaigning for a Europe that prioritises jobs, social protection, the environment and sustainability.

David Cameron has actively campaigned against social protection while forcing his ‘dead cat’ immigration changes down the throats of every other EU leader to distract from any suggestions that might be useful.

Labour’s problem is that, if the UK remains in the EU after June 23, we will still have a Conservative Government, therefore it is the Conservative version of remaining that will prevail – for the time being, at least.

How Tory Eurosceptics will respond to that is anybody’s guess – and it makes any predictions beyond June 23 very hard to make.

Jeremy Corbyn has drawn a deeper dividing line with David Cameron over Europe, highlighting the leave campaign’s claims that the UK’s deal with Brussels may not be legally binding.

The Labour leader, who supports staying in the EU, categorically ruled out sharing a platform with the prime minister as he seeks to make a completely separate argument against Brexit. He stressed he is “not on the same side of the argument” as Cameron despite both fighting for the remain campaign to win.

Corbyn has strongly criticised Cameron for striking the deal with 27 other EU leaders to curb in-work benefits for migrants, saying it is irrelevant and a sideshow to the wider referendum debate. Speaking to ITV’s The Agenda, he said he could never imagine sharing a stage with the prime minister and pointed to comments by Michael Gove, the justice secretary and leave campaigner, that question the legal status of Cameron’s deal.

“We are not on the same side of the argument. [Cameron] wants a free market Europe. He has negotiated what he believes is some kind of deal over welfare and the ever-closer union, which is apparently legally questionable, according to Michael Gove.

“I want to see a Europe that is about protecting our environment and ensuring we have sustainable industries across Europe, such as the steel industry, and high levels of jobs and social protection across Europe. His agenda is the very opposite.”

Corbyn went on to attack Cameron for failing to do enough to tackle the refugee crisis engulfing the continent.

Source: Jeremy Corbyn ‘not on same side’ as David Cameron in EU debate | Politics | The Guardian

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5 Comments

  1. Barry Davies March 1, 2016 at 2:27 pm - Reply

    Yes it is true they both want us to stay in for different and completely wrong ideas of what the eussr has to offer.

    • Mike Sivier March 1, 2016 at 4:57 pm - Reply

      The only really badly wrong ideas I’ve seen so far are from those who want us to leave.

  2. Joan Edington March 1, 2016 at 3:31 pm - Reply

    You’re right there Mike. He can’t afford to stand with Cameron, even if they both want the same result. I feel that way too. I want to stay in the EU too but for very opposite reasons to Cameron. Apart for the support that rural areas, of which Scotland has much, gets from the EU (if Westminster passes it on to the areas it is intended for), another strong reason to stay in is to keep Tory policies slightly at bay. I still feel a bit dirty intending to vote the same way as Cameron though.

    My vote is probably meaningless though since England will decide. As for the GE 2015, Labour did lose votes in Scotland, for appearing to stand with the Tories, but that was not the reason for the Tory majority. It was the unionist MSM, not the SNP, who scared many Labour voters in England by their constant scare-mongering of Labour joining up with the SNP, including the infamous meme of Ed Milliband in Alex Salmond’s pocket, a la Spitting Image David Steel.

    • Mike Sivier March 1, 2016 at 3:54 pm - Reply

      Yes, Corbyn and Cameron want the same result – but for hugely different reasons (as shown in the article).
      England will probably decide. If it’s a very close split, votes in Wales, Scotland and NI will become very important. So let’s not say “die” until we have to, eh?
      I certainly agree that the ‘lame-stream’ media’s promotion of the Labour/SNP scare story moved English people to vote against the possibility, even though it did not exist.
      North of the border, the “Red Tory” myth was the one that played, I think.

  3. NMac March 2, 2016 at 12:21 pm - Reply

    Personally, I am pleased that Jeremy Corbyn is keeping his distance from the Tories on this one. I would not have felt comfortable had he shared a platform with the snake-oil salesman Cameron, who is at war with his own nasty colleagues.

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