Jeremy Corbyn Briefings

Thank you very much for that

introduction and before I start, I

just think we should pause for a

moment and send our condolences to

those who have lost their lives in

Leicester last night. We thank the

emergency services, the police, the

fire, the ambulances and local

residents for all the help and

support they gave to the victims of

that tragedy last night. Could I

also say a big thank you to Coventry

University for allowing us this

space this morning. After high-tech

around us, the modern Labour Party,

ultra high-tech. You are supposed to

laugh at that! Thank you. Also the

work that Coventry University does

in cutting edge technology, research

technology, and ensuring that the

skills of decades in Coventry that

build aircraft and cars and so much

else are developed into the

high-tech that we want for the 21st

century with sustainable industries

and technology. Can I also thank the

Shadow ministers that are here

today. Rebecca Long Bailey, who is

doing an incredible job on business

and trade. Barry Gardner who is

doing a great job on trade itself.

You work together. And Keir Starmer

who has done such a brilliant job in

holding the government to account

and forcing them to retreat time

after time on the whole issue of

Brexit negotiations.

And you very much for being here.

APPLAUSE

And welcome to Coventry MPs were

being here today.

I think we should also thank

Geoffrey Robinson for the incredible

work he did in Parliament on the

open door and is built on Friday. It

is making a difference to the lives

of many people. -- oaken donors.

Britain's industrial heartland is

where we are now and it is now set

to be our next City of Culture, so

well done Coventry to doing that and

I am looking forward to joining in

the celebrations. I was given a book

by the University this morning which

I will treasure. Next month, the

government will embark on the second

and most crucial phase of

negotiations to leave the European

Union, to set the terms of Britain's

relationship with the EU for the

long-term. We are now 20 months on

from the referendum that voted to

leave and a year on from the

triggering of Article 50. But the

country is still in the dark about

what this divided Conservative

government actually wants out

Brexit. They cannot agree amongst

themselves about what their

priorities are or what the future

they want for Britain after Brexit

is. They have got no shortage of

sound bites and slogans of course.

The Foreign Secretary says it will

be a liberal Brexit, the Prime

Minister says it will be a red,

white and blue Brexit. On other days

it is a bespoke, economic

partnership. The Brexit secretary at

least no promises it will not be at

maxed Mac style dystopia, which you

might think is setting the bar a

little low. Whilst the trade

Secretary cannot contain himself at

the prospect of pushing Britain into

a spiral of deregulation in right

and standards. The Cabinet seemed to

agree at Chequers to leave the door

open to that, while the ambitious,

manage diversion goes on, whatever

that means. But the truth is we do

not know much more about where they

are heading in these talks while

workers, businesses and everyone who

voted in the referendum just want to

know what the government's approach

to Brexit is likely to mean for

their future and the future of the

country. As the opposition, we have

been trying to hold this government

to account, we have a duty to do

that. Our message has been

consistent since the vote to leave

20 months ago. We respect the

results of the referendum. Our

priority is to get the best deal for

people's jobs, living standards and

the economy, as Becky was explaining

in her opening remarks. We reject

any race to the bottom in workers'

rights, environmental safeguards,

consumer protections or food safety

standards. We pushed the government

to act to guarantee the rights of

European Union citizens living here,

and of UK citizens who have made

their homes elsewhere in Europe. I

want to thank all those European

Union nationals who have made their

homes here and who have made such an

incredible contribution to our

communities, lives and public

services and say to the government

it is a shame on them, they have

been through 20 months of uncertain

horror because there has been no

guarantee of their future. We will

protect their rights by legislating

immediately to guarantee permanent

residence for EU nationals living

here and the right to bring their

families here.

APPLAUSE

We also want to ensure a transition

period on the existing terms, that

was a very strong point that other

colleagues put in parliament, which

would minimise disruption and avoid

an economic cliff edge.

To avoid any return to a hard border

in Northern Ireland and to guarantee

Parliament a meaningful vote on the

final deal. The Conservative

government has dithered and delayed.

There are divisions, incompetence

and deregulation obsession risks

putting jobs and living standards at

risk as we leave the European Union.

This is an economy that has already

been damaged by eight years of

conservative austerity. Wages are

still lower today than they were a

decade ago. Productivity lags

dangerously behind other major

economies. The government has failed

to invest and modernise. More people

are living in poverty and we are

closing the deficit that was due to

be eradicated in 2015, then 2016,

then 2017, then 2020, and now it has

been put back to 2025. After years

of Tory bluster and slogans, the

Conservatives have been found out.

They have no economic plan and they

have no Brexit plan. Every so often

they wheel out Boris Johnson to

promise once more that they will

cough up more money for the NHS

after Brexit. And they have spent

the last eight years not giving

money to the National Health Service

that so desperately needs it. Even

while they have been able to find

billions of pounds, billions, to cut

taxes for the richest corporations,

to cut capital gains tax for the

super-rich elite, and to scrap the

50% rate for the richest, and find

billions more to cut inheritance tax

on the wealthiest estates and to

slash the bank levy. Yet the NHS has

been subjected to the longest

financial squeeze in its history.

This is a government that failed our

NHS pre-Brexit and during Brexit and

certainly cannot be trusted with the

NHS post Brexit. Labour will give

the NHS the resources it needs. We

will raise tax on the top 5% and big

businesses. Those with the Brodie 's

shoulders should pay, not by making

up numbers and parading them on the

side of a bus. We will use the funds

return from Brussels after Brexit to

invest in our public services and

the jobs of the future, not tax cuts

for the richest.

APPLAUSE

Today I want to set that Labour's

approach to Brexit in more detail,

how we would do things differently.

What our priorities are for the

Brexit negotiations and the values

that underpin them. The first is our

overriding mission, that whatever is

negotiated must put people's jobs

and living standards first. The

Brexit process must not leave our

people and country worse off. We are

committed to building a more

prosperous and more equal Britain in

which every region, every region,

benefits and no community,

absolutely no community, is left

behind. As we set out in our

manifesto, and that is what

underpins our approach to Brexit.

The second is unity. Most people in

our country, regardless of whether

they voted leave remain, want better

jobs, more investment, stronger

rights and greater equality. So we

will not let those who want to sow

divisions drive this process. No

scapegoating of migrants, no set in

one generation against another, and

no playing off the nations of the

UK.

APPLAUSE

No one should be willing to

sacrifice the Good Friday Agreement,

the bases of 20 years of relative

peace and development and respect

for diversity in Northern Ireland.

APPLAUSE

The Good Friday Agreement was a huge

achievement and on this anniversary

of it less respect that and the

achievement that went behind it and

not allow that to be undermined

during the Brexit process. The third

is our global perspective. We are

leaving the European Union, but we

are not leaving Europe. We are not

throwing up protectionist barriers,

closing the borders and barricading

ourselves in. We want a close and

cooperative relationship with the

whole of Europe after Brexit. We are

a party of internationalists. We

know that our interests are bound up

with millions of others or across

the globe, whether that is in order

to tackle the huge challenges of

climate change, build a more

peaceful world, or clamped down on

the tax dodging elite who think that

by bestriding the globe they can

avoid paying their share for vital

public services.

APPLAUSE

I want to address each of these

principles today because together

they define Labour's approach to

Brexit. The Labour Party's values

and what the next Labour government

will seek to deliver in office. So

many of the areas that voted to

leave by the same areas that have

lost out from years of chronic

underinvestment, areas where too

many people are held back by the

lack of opportunities, where people

fail because the system is rigged

against them because they cannot get

a decent, secure job. They cannot

afford to buy a home, they cannot

get more hours or higher paid, they

cannot afford to retire or are not

able to escape the spiral of debt.

You cannot replace secure jobs in

manufacturing or mining with sports

direct and insecure work like that.

You have got to do better than that

as a society and country and we are

determined to do that.

APPLAUSE

Labour's priority is to get the best

Brexit deal for jobs and living

standards, to underpin our plans to

upgrade the economy and invest in

every community and every region, to

shift it away from the low pay, low

skill, low investment economy that

it has become under the Tories and

rebalance that investment across the

whole of the country so that no

longer will some regions get a mere

16 of the capital investment that

goes to London. That is why Labour

once a Brexit for all our people,

one that offers security to workers

in the car industry worried about

their future, hope to families

struggling to pay the bills each

month, and opportunities to young

people wanted a decent job and a

home of their own. These are the

people we are thinking of and

working for. It is a very different

story around the awayday mahogany

table in Chequers. The government

seems much more concerned about

cutting deals with each other for

their friends and their funders in

the city of London. Labour is

looking for a Brexit that puts the

working people first. Leaving the

EU, whenever that exit date comes,

risks delivering a shock to the

economy and lead the right plans and

protections are in place. To allow

the kind of investment in economic

transformation programmes that the

country needs and that Labour is

committed to. For 45 years our

economy has become increasingly

linked to the European Union and

many of our laws and regulations are

set and monitored by joint European

authorities, from implementing rules

on the use of pesticides to

assessing the levels of fluoride in

our drinking water. The European

food safety authority plays a vital

role in monitoring the substances

used in manufacturing or growing our

food using the latest scientific

evidence to assess whether

substances are likely to have

harmful effects on human or

The European chemicals agency

carries out the valuable task of

authorising chemicals are safe for

use. Many businesses have a supply

chains and production processes

interwoven throughout Europe. Take

the UK car industry, which supports

169,000 manufacturing jobs, 52,000

of which are here in the West

Midlands. If we look at the example

of one of Britain's most iconic

brands in this sector - the mini -

we begin to see how reliant our

automotive industry is an

frictionless, interwoven supply

chain. A Many will cross the Channel

three times in a 2000 mile journey

finished our role in the production

line. Starting in Oxford, it will be

moved to France to be fitted for key

components before Brion bought back

to BMW's plant in Warwickshire,

where it is moulded into shape.

Wants that process is complete, the

Mini will be sent to Munich to be

fitted with its engine before ending

its journey back at the Mini plant

in Oxford for final assembly. If

that car is to be sold on the

continent, many of its components

will have crossed the Channel four

tightens. The sheer complexity of

these issues demand that we are

practical and serious about this

next stage. I want to pay tribute to

Kenya, Rebecca, Barry and Emily

Thornberry for grappling with these

issues. -- to Kier Starmer. They are

serious and united in their work. I

don't want to be personal in

politics but it isn't a bit of

contrast what is going on on the

other side of the House of Commons

chamber. I will leave it at that. I

don't want to tread on difficult

cordons that people are suffering

from. It makes no sense for the UK

to abandon EU agencies and tariff

free trading rules that have served

us well, supporting our industrial

sectors, protecting workers and

consumers and safeguarding the

environment. Is that means

negotiating to support individual EU

agencies, rather than paying more to

duplicate those agencies here, then

that should be an option, not

something ruled out because of some

phoney jingoistic posturing by the

Foreign Secretary. So we will want

to remain a part of some industries

like the one that regulates nuclear

materials, and crucially in health

sectors. And programmes like you

Rasmus, from which this university

benefits greatly. The students from

Europe studying in Britain and

students from Britain studying in

Europe Ben the lives of students on

both sides of the Channel and both

sides of the continent. It serves

the interests of young people all

across Europe to maintain membership

of that programme. We are leaving

the EU but we are still working with

European partners in the economic

interests of this country. When 44 %

of our imports are to EU countries

and 50% of our imports come from EU

it is in both our interests for that

trade to remain tariff free. It

would damage businesses that export

to Europe and the jobs that depend

on those exports for there to be the

additional costs of tariffs. And it

would damage consumers here, already

failed by a stagnant wages and

rapidly rising housing costs. So, we

will remain close to the EU - that's

obvious - every country, whether

Turkey, Switzerland or Norway that

is geographically close to the EU

without being an EU member state has

some sort of close relationship with

the EU. Some are more advantageous

than others and Britain will need a

bespoke negotiated relationship of

its own. During the transition

period, which was proposed by Labour

in the first place, Labour would

seek to remain in a customs union

with the EU and within the single

market. That means we would abide by

the existing rules of both during

transition. Buses so the Government,

businesses and workers only have to

make one adjustment from the current

situation to the final terms. Labour

spelt out the need for a stable

transition period last summer. Both

the TUC and the CBI agree on that.

We thought the Government had

accepted that case but they now seem

to be very surprisingly in disarray

on this issue, yet again. Time after

time with this government anything

agreed at breakfast is being

breached against by lunch and

abandoned by tea-time. Disarray is,

it seems, the new strong and stable.

And the Government's model and

division risk costly adjustments for

both government and businesses from

the current terms to the

transitional terms and then again to

the final terms. Labour would seek a

final deal that gives full access to

European markets and maintains the

benefits of the single market and

the customs union, as the Brexit

secretary David Davis promised in

the House of Commons, with no new

impediments to trade and no

reductions in standards of

protection is. We have long argued

that a customs union is a viable

option for the final deal, so Labour

would negotiate a new, comprehensive

UK/ EU customs union to ensure there

are no tariffs with Europe and to

help avoid any need whatsoever for a

hard border in northern Ireland's.

APPLAUSE

But we are also clear that the

option of a new UK Customs union

with the EU would need to ensure

that the UK has a say in future

trade deals. New customs arrangement

would depend on Britain being able

to negotiate agreement for new trade

deals in our national interest.

Labour would not countenance a deal

that left Britain as a passive

recipient of rules decided elsewhere

by others, that would mean ending up

as a mere rule take. In contrast,

the Conservative Government has

moved from saying it wanted trade

with EU after Brexit to be tariff

free to saying they wanted to be as

tariff free as possible, quite a

significant change, in which sectors

of the economy and industry does the

government think it would be

acceptable for there to be tariffs?

They should let us know. Like with

so much else, they have not spelt

that out, 20 months after the

referendum. That is the consequence

of ruling out the option of the

customs union, a customs union,

which the Government has done. So I

appeal to MPs of all parties - be

prepared to put the people's

interests before the ideological

fantasies, to join us in supporting

the option of a new UK customs union

with the EU that would give us a say

in future trade deals. Labour

respect the result of the referendum

and is leaving the EU but we will

not support any Tory deal that would

do lasting damage to jobs, rights

and living standards. Some seem very

keen on downgrading our trading

links with Europe but we do not

believe that deals with the US or

China would be likely to compensate

for a significant loss of trade with

our neighbours in the European Union

and the Government's only cut

assessments show exactly that. Both

the United States and China have

much weaker standards and

regulations. Those deals would risk

dragging Britain into a race to the

bottom on vital protections and our

rights at work. Environment,

consumer and rights at work are

pretty central to everything the

Labour Party believes in. And let me

make this clear - we implacably

oppose our National Health Service,

or any other public services, being

part of a trade deal with Trump's

America or a revived Transatlantic

Trade and Investment Partnership

style deal with the EU, which would

open the door to a flood of further

privatisation of public services and

our National Health Service.

APPLAUSE

And we're not prepared to ask the

British public to eat chlorinated

chicken and lower the standards of

British farming. We would ensure

there will be no reduction in

rights, standards or protections

and, instead, seek to extend them. A

deregulatory race to the bottom

would damage people's jobs and

living standards and Labour would

negotiate a new and strong

relationship with the single market

that includes full tariff free

access and a floor under existing

rights, standards and protections.

That new relationship would need to

ensure we could deliver our

ambitious economic programme, to

take essential steps to intervene,

of grade and transform our economy,

to build an economy for the 21st

century that works for the many, not

just the few. Labour has set out how

we would create a national

investment bank to drive investment

in every community, through a

network of Regional Development

Banks, so that every area has an

industrial strategy based on

investment in a high skill, high

wage, high productivity economy and

through our 500 billion national

transformation fund, we would invest

in a decade-long programme of

renewal so that Britain has the

infrastructure that matches, if not

exceeds, that of major economies

elsewhere. In our transport

networks, our energy markets and our

digital infrastructure, too often

Britain lags well behind so we'd

also seek to negotiate protections,

clarifications or exemptions where

necessary in relation to

privatisation and public service

competition directives. State aid

and procurement rules and the Posted

Workers Directive. We can not be

held back from taking the steps we

need to support cutting-edge

industries and local businesses and

stop the tide of privatisation and

outsourcing, or from preventing

employers being able to import cheap

agency labour to undercut existing

pay and conditions and result in

grotesque levels of exploitation of

vulnerable workers and loss of jobs

to others, and huge profits to the

employer in the middle of that. We

would deal with that.

APPLAUSE

It was alarming that after the

Brexit vote there was a clear rise

in xenophobic and racist attacks on

our streets. The referendum campaign

was divisive and some politicians on

the Leave side whipped up fears and

division in order to further their

cause, that built on the shameful

vans telling immigrants to go home

that the then Home Secretary

instructed to trundle around the

country, stirring division. I

remember just after the referendum

result receiving a text from a young

person in my constituency who had

been subjected to abuse in the

street for the first time, the first

time in his life he'd been abused

for what he is, and he was very

afraid. Our immigration system will

change and freedom of room at will,

as a statement of fact, end when we

leave the EU, but we have also said

that in the trade negotiations our

priorities are growth, jobs and

people's living standards. We make

no apologies for putting those aims

before bogus immigration targets.

Labour would design our immigration

policy around the needs of the

economy, based on fair rules and the

reasonable management of migration.

Every industry needs workers stepped

is a skill shortage in Britain and

our National Health Service is

already suffering because large

numbers of EU staff have gone home

because they're frightened of the

future in Britain. We want to turn

that around. They're welcome to

stay, welcome to work here and we

need their skills and dedication to

public service and under Labour we

will make sure that happens.

APPLAUSE

We would not do what this Government

is doing and start from rigid red

lines then work out what that means

the economy afterwards. Is Diane

Abbott, our shadow home secretary,

set out last week we do not begin

with how do we reduce immigration

and to hell with the consequences?

These are Tory policies and Tory

values. Part of the reason why net

migration has been relatively high

in recent years is because of the

skills shortage in the UK labour

market. At the general election

Labour set out plans to invest in a

national education service with free

College university trading places to

tackle those shortages and not drive

young people into debt just because

they want to get a university

education. But people...

APPLAUSE

People also feel frustrated when

they are denied opportunities to

retrain or improve their skills and

employers instead import skilled

labour from elsewhere. We will also

restore free English as a second

language courses so that people who

come here, whether as migrants or

refugees, can learn English and

fully participate in their

communities and workplaces. We also

set out how we would tighten our

labour market regulations and

strengthen trade union rights to

tackle the insecurity and

exploitation of all workers. When

migrant workers come to Britain they

must not be exploited or used to

undercut or suppress better working

conditions or higher pay. Those

issues can only be tackled by

stronger employment law, to stop

employers being able to import cheap

agency labour to undercut existing

pay and conditions, co-operative

agreements and sectoral bargaining

must become the norm. Labour stands

for the rate for the job, not a race

to the bottom.

But let's also be clear, it is not

migrants that drive down wages, it

is bad employers that cut pay and

bad governments that allow workers

to be divided and undermined and

they want unions to be weak and

passive. We will strengthen our

employment law, invest in the skills

of workers in Britain so they can

progress. And we will oppose all

those who instead of seeking to

solve problems seek to scapegoat

instead. The demolition of the last

Labour government completed the

peace process in Northern Ireland

which we must cherish. The Good

Friday Agreement was a great

achievement and I pay tribute to the

work done by the Prime Minister Tony

Blair at the time, Mo Mowlam and

many others who worked so hard on

all sides in Northern Ireland to

secure that agreement. We must

continue to support the restoration

of the Northern Ireland assembly and

to ensure we maintain the situation

of no hard border in Northern

Ireland. The previous Labour

government also brought power is

close to home in Scotland and Wales,

establishing the Scottish Parliament

and the Welsh assembly. And so

Labour believes that powers over

devolved policy areas currently

exercised by the EU should go

directly to the relevant body

devolved after Brexit. That power is

closer to the people. That is the

same principle that informs the

regional development banks that the

next Labour government will deliver.

The Constitution of the Labour Party

includes a commitment to support the

United Nations, a promise, and I

quote, to secure peace, freedom,

democracy, economic security and

environmental protection for all.

Some want to use Brexit to turn

Britain on itself, seeing everyone

is a fierce competitor. Others want

to use Brexit to put rocket boosters

under our current economic systems,

insecurities and inequalities,

turning Britain into a deregulated

corporate tax haven with low wages,

limited rights and cut-price public

services in what would be a

destructive race to the bottom.

Labour stands for a completely

different future. Drawing on the

best internationalist traditions of

the labour movement and this country

we want to see close cooperative

relations with our European

neighbours outside the EU, based on

our values of internationalism,

solidarity and equality, as well as

mutual benefit and fair trade. We

are proud that Britain was an

original signatory of the European

Convention of human rights in 1948

and in 1998 Labour's Human Rights

Act enshrined that in law. So Labour

will continue to work with other

European allies, including through

the Council of Europe, to ensure our

country and others uphold our

international obligations. We must

work with other countries to advance

the cause of human rights, to

confront the four greatest

interconnected threats facing our

common humanity. First, the growing

concentration of unaccountable

wealth and power in the hands of a

tiny global, corporate elite. We

must challenge that, working with

our European neighbours to stop

those who play one country off

against another, or those who hide

their wealth offshore in order to

avoid paying their dues to fund the

public services that they all use at

some point in their lives.

APPLAUSE

The second, climate change, which is

creating instability and fuelling

conflict across the world and

threatening all our futures. No

matter how much we informed them,

they stubbornly, pollution refuses

to respect national borders. We can

only tackle climate change,

pollution and environmental

degradation by working together and

many of our closest allies in that

struggle are in Europe. The Green

Alliance estimates trade in low

carbon goods and services

contributed over 42 billion to the

economy from 2015. The UK low carbon

and renewable energy sector was

expecting to increase fivefold by

2030, potentially bringing 2 million

jobs and contributing more than 8%

to the UK's national output. But

that needs us to maintain our

standards and ensure barrier free

trade and low carbon goods. Those

include eco-design and energy

labelling standards, greenhouse gas

emission standards for vehicles and

internal energy market construction

product standards, chemical

regulation and nuclear safety and

safeguards. So the importance of

getting our Brexit settlement right

is vital in this area, both in terms

of Britain's industrial role in

reducing climate change, and in

terms of protecting jobs and

industry. Thirdly, there are

unprecedented numbers of people

fleeing conflict, persecution, human

rights abuses, social breakdown and

climate disaster. The global refugee

crisis is huge and there are 65

million refugees across the world,

that is the equivalent of the entire

population of Britain. That crisis

is a challenge, much of which is on

the borders of Europe. That

challenge can be met by coordinating

with neighbours, both to crack down

on people smugglers who put men,

women and children at sea in

unseaworthy vessels, as too many

desperate people are drowning in

pursuit of sanctuary. These are

people who are simply seeking refuge

from cruelty and suffering. I want

to make a contribution, but for

accident of birth could be any of

us. Let's have the hand of humanity

to refugees around the world and not

blame them for the problems they

fleeing from.

APPLAUSE

And I pay tribute to the role the

Royal Navy has played in their

contribution in the Mediterranean in

saving lives and blocking people

from danger in the sea.

Finally, I want to address

unilateral military intervention

rather than diplomacy to resolve

disputes. Let's learn the lessons of

Iraq, Libya and Afghanistan and

declare we will not take our country

down the road of regime change was

again, the real issue is persecution

and inequality and we will continue

to play a role in partnership with

the EU in that effect. We live in a

globalised world, the lives we lead

our dependence on the work of others

and our trade with those from around

the world. Many of us have friends

and family that are from or who

lived in many other parts of the

world. In contrast the Prime

Minister has said if you believe you

are a citizen of the world, you are

a citizen of nowhere. We believe in

fact that we can only achieve what

we want to citizens of Britain but

also recognising we are citizens of

the world.

APPLAUSE

I have long opposed embedding a

free-market orthodoxy and the

democratic deficit in the European

Union. That is why I campaigned to

remain and reform in the referendum.

Scepticism is healthy, especially

when dealing with politicians, and

there are plenty of them here today.

All the received wisdom of the

political and media establishment,

and there are plenty of us here

today, but often the term

Eurosceptic in reality became

synonymous with anti-European. I am

not anti-European atoll. I want to

see close, progressive cooperation

with the whole of Europe after

Brexit. Labour is the party of the

new common-sense on the economy, on

public services and on Brexit, the

only party which recognises the

world has changed these last ten

years and we cannot continue with

widening inequality, deregulation of

industry and privatisation of public

services. We are in a country where

Tory run councils are collapsing

because of cuts. Homeless people are

dying on the streets in the shadow

of Parliament. Good jobs are being

lost because we have got a

government that will not get a grip

on the casino economy. In or out of

the European Union we have to deal

with that reality, the reality of

market failure and of austerity. The

free market has not worked in the

banking sector, it has not worked in

the water industry or in energy or

utilities, and it has crashed in

outsourcing. It has failed our

fragmented railways and it has led

to a labour market where abuse is

right. The European Union is not the

root of all our problems and leaving

it will not solve all our problems.

Likewise, the EU is not the source

of all enlightenment and leaving it

does not inevitably spell doom.

There will be some who will say

Brexit is a disaster for this

country and some who will say that

Brexit will create a land of milk

and honey. But Brexit is in our

hands, it is what we make of it

together, the priorities and choices

we make in negotiations. The

Conservative government is damaging

our country and their priorities for

Brexit risk increasing and

exacerbating that damage. But I also

know what a Labour government could

do for this country and our

priorities for the Brexit

negotiations are the right ones, to

create a country that works, that

really does work, for the many and

not the few. Thank you very much.

APPLAUSE

We have got time for questions.

We

will do them in groups and we should

have some roving microphones. The

gentleman with the blue tie and the

glasses.

Channel 4 News. If he went

into a customs agreement, the say

you have made a speech right to be

heard, not a right to a vote or a

veto. Would you live with that?

Excuse me?

Is it the microphone? If

you go into a customs agreement you

might just have a right to be heard,

not a right to a vote or a veto on

any trade agreement the EU might

have. Could you live with that? You

pointed out it has been 20 months

since the referendum and you said

the Tories have been playing

politics. Why have you suddenly now

come round to the idea of a customs

agreement? Some people might think

you have got a political game on

your mind.

The lady with a blue

dress on just a bit further along.

From the Guardian. A QC has pointed

out this morning that a number of

European countries spend more on

state aid per head than the UK does

and also that Scandinavian style

economies are possible within the

single market because they exist.

What specific labour policies do you

hope to implement that you believe

requires an exemption from those

single market rules?

The gentleman

with the blue tie and the lovely

blue jumper.

Nick Watt, BBC

Newsnight. It is often said that

because we do not see you at the set

piece interventions on Brexit very

often that you are keen for Theresa

May to own Brexit's success or

failure and yet in the last week you

raised at Prime Minister's questions

and here we are today. I am

wondering, do you see an opportunity

to shape Brexit or an opportunity to

ship out Theresa May?

I love your blue sweater. It is very

nice. We have a team... I know it is

a bit of a difficult concept for the

Tory party to understand, we

actually have a team. It is called

the Shadow Cabinet and our Brexit

negotiating team and we have

travelled far and wide. I have

travelled over many parts of Europe,

I have maintained a very close

relationship with colleagues and

developed that understanding because

we want an alliance with them in the

future. I think I have attended more

meetings of party European socialist

than only Labour leader in the past

and our team is part of that. I did

raise these matters with the Prime

Minister at question time last week

and you would have heard all of that

and we will continue making these

interventions. Listen, it was only

two weeks or so after the referendum

in 2016 that Andy Burnham, who was

then our shadow home secretary

before he went on to become the

mayor of Greater Manchester,

proposed an amendment to Parliament,

a resolution to Parliament, which

would guarantee EU citizens the

right of residence in Britain. We're

been on this from the very beginning

of trying to deal with the

consequences of the decision the

British people and to us. On the

points that the journalist from the

guardian raised, the issues are of

competition rules and the issues are

of the rules on state aid and, for

example, the nationalisation of RBS,

in order to accommodate European

rules, was accompanied by the

selling off of some of the best

parts of RBS and the public was left

with the remainder. Royal Mail is

unnatural delivery, it is a natural

monopoly. I do not accept the idea

there has to be competition in mail

delivery. After all, we all only

have one letter box and it is much

more efficient to have one mail

delivery person coming down the

street than three or four from

different companies. On the idea you

have competition in water supplier

is a little odd when only one water

by constantly channels. So the idea

that the competition rules work for

the benefit of all, we do not

believe to be the case and we set

out very clearly in our manifesto,

which received a huge degree of

support, was public ownership of

water and mail and of train

operating companies. On the point

raised by Channel 4, I set it out in

the speech, what we want to achieve,

and what we want to achieve is our

right to be able to negotiate and

consult at the same time with the

European Union on the sort of trade

agreements we make and also to

influence them on the sort of trade

deals that are made with the rest of

the world. For example, EU trade

agreement at the moment have a human

rights clause, very seldom enforced,

and they also have what I hoped

would be much stronger clauses on

workers' rights and opportunities in

third World countries or

non-European countries from which

goods are imported. I would want to

see those things stronger and Labour

government would be committed to

making those things stronger. Does

that mean we have to be passive

takers? No. We are a large economy,

an important part of the world trade

system and we would obviously

negotiate to achieve that. Barry has

set this out very clearly in many

debates in Parliament.

What took you

so long... Some might say you're

playing politics die with this

issue.

That is a really strange

question because I, as you know,

spend a lot of time travelling

around the country doing campaigning

meetings. The issues surrounding

Brexit, Paul the time and we thought

it would be helpful if, as the

second stage of negotiations is

beginning, we set out our views here

today which is exactly what we're

doing, and thank you coming along.

Any more questions? We have a lady

in a blue dress to talk

You

mentioned about the automotive

industry in commentary. Jaguar Land

Rover said they would suffer dire

consequences from the impact of

Brexit and thousands having to pay

for it with their jobs. First of

all, what do you say to that and

secondly, would your plan reassure

them of those fears?

The gentleman

behind with the fetching scarf on.

Thank you. Mr Corbyn, you talked

about the need to maintain a soft

border in Northern Ireland. You

admitted that staying in the customs

union would only help that aim. The

EU have said repeatedly that the

only way to guarantee that there was

not a hard border is to stay in the

single market to talk if it comes

down to it and it does prove to be

the case, you are saying they are

wrong on that old Ugandans leaving

on the table the option of staying

in the single market?

And a

gentleman just a little bit further

back with the trendy beards.

Charlie

Cooper. There was a new campaign

group formed a few months ago called

Our Future, Our Choice, a youth

campaign group and their main

purpose is to persuade you, Mr

Corbyn, to back a second referendum

on EU membership. You believe in the

power of grassroots campaigns to

change minds. Is there any chance

they could ever change your mind on

this?

On the question of jobs here

in commentary, yes, Coventry is a

manufacturing centre, is a research

centre, and it is part of the whole

West Midlands industrial strength

and, clearly, that relies very

heavily on trade with Europe, as

this university relies on overseas

students, not just from Europe but

from all over, and I want to visit

protect those jobs and to ensure

that the universities can carry on

recruiting large numbers of overseas

students but likewise, I also want

to make sure that UK students don't

go into debt in order to get an

education. So our proposals here are

that we have the effect of trading

relationship with Europe and I think

what we've said here today ought to

be good news for the people in

commentary and in the West Midlands.

On the question of the border with

Northern Ireland, we are very, very

clear that the Good Friday Agreement

was a huge, enormous step forward,

in which both traditions in Northern

Ireland and across the island of

Ireland were respected, and that

historical movement came because of

very brave people being prepared to

talk and negotiate about it. Nobody

wants to lose that and, indeed,

every meeting I've been to in

Brussels or anywhere else, the

Northern Ireland border issue does

come up. That means there has to be

a customs union that guarantees

there is no hard border between the

Republic of Ireland and Northern

Ireland and that is our priority. We

have made that very, very clear time

and time again. On the question of a

decision on the outcome, what we've

pushed for is a number of red lines

in the House of Commons, one of

which is the point is that Keir

Starmer has made many, many times

that there should be a meaningful

vote in parliament on the final

deal, as indeed there will be a

decision made by the 27 member

states in the European Union, plus

the European Parliament, so there is

an awful lot of discussion and

negotiation to go on. We're not

doing the negotiations but we are

setting out what we would do if we

were in office and the priorities we

would make. We are not proposing a

second referendum. What we are

proposing is the final meaningful

vote in parliament.

Let's makes it

up a bit now. Have we got any

non-journalists who want to ask

Jeremy question? The lady with the

blonde hair, second row.

Please... I

want to say, please will you hurry

up and be our Prime Minister?

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

We've got time for another two

questions. The gentleman with a blue

shirt, sat a couple of rows back, he

is standing up there.

Mr Corbyn,

following on from that... With this

new shift in politics, is it your

hope, your intention, that Labour

MPs will now be able to join with

Conservative rebels, defeat the

Government in Parliament and maybe

precipitate an election?

One more

before we go home. I will go for

this site, the gentleman with the

coat on and the glasses and the

beards.

Thank you very much. And

issue up and down the country, the

police shortage in the streets.

Certainly, my ward, which I

represent, there has been meetings

with... Up and down the country,

police are starved of resources. Is

there any possibility Labour

government could look into it and

make sure there is adequate policing

on the street and there are no

vigilantes on the streets?

Thanks

for the last question. We are

pledged to increase police numbers

by 10000 and put 10,000 more police

officers there. I was with David

Jamieson on Saturday in Stourbridge,

who is the Police and Crime

Commissioner, and was talking to

police officers and community there.

They are losing their PCSOs, other

parts of the country are as well.

Server sense of community

corporation between the police and

local citizens is lost and the

police only then come in when there

is a dire emergency or a major

crime. That is not a good way

forward. If we are to deal with

issues of anti-social behaviour, of

low-level abuse, higher-level abuse,

knife crime, really serious issues

like that, you don't achieve it by

reducing police numbers. You can't

solve it all on a computer in a desk

somewhere. It is only sold by PCSOs

who understand the communities and

out the streets. I was in Great

Yarmouth last week and I spent a

while talking to two local police

officers who had both been on the

same area for ten years. They knew

everybody in the community, they

knew all the strains and stresses

and they were able to relate to that

community and the community related

to them, so they could help. And the

points everybody makes all the time

is, if you cut police numbers, you

close youth clubs, you dismiss youth

workers, you reduce the availability

of community centres, recreational

facilities, sports facilities and

everything else, is it very

surprising you end up with more and

more anti-social behaviour and more

and more levels of crime? We are

saying this is a false economy to

cut police numbers and PCSO numbers.

What we would do is invest in the

community infrastructure provided by

youth workers and community centres

and all those. That's why we are

fighting the local election and

that's why austerities is so wrong.

APPLAUSE

Andy, thanks to your question. We

are putting our views to Parliament.

We are not in a majority. We have

the result we got on the general

election and we are determined to

win the next general election,

whenever that comes. We're fighting

to protect jobs, to protect living

standards, consumer rights,

environmental living standards and,

above all, the rights that people

have at work. I've tried to set out

what I believe to be a more global

view of our place in the world than

that which the Tories do. There is

no future in turning this country

into some sort of xenophobic

offshore island badger sees

everybody as a threat or a rival.

No, we are a global, -- open,

multicultural, multilingual society.

Let's be proud of that, proud of

what we have achieved. Let's say to

people in every part of the country,

a Labour government will not let

your industries disappear and be

replaced by nothing other than

short-term insecure zero hours

contract type work. We are serious,

very serious, about investing in

every community in the country.

Surely the political class should

learn a lesson from the results of

the referendum, that sense of anger,

anger, at left behind communities

anywhere in Britain. We would not

walk by on the other side and let

towns and cities die for the lack of

investment. It is our duty to

achieve something very different and

better and, yes, we're campaigning

very hard all over the country to

win the local elections and then a

general election when it comes and

so you will get a Labour government

that way. Is that OK?

APPLAUSE