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Boris Johnson clashed with Jeremy Corbyn today over Britain’s future trade ties with the EU — as Ireland rejected the Prime Minister’s Brexit plan as “not the basis of a deal”.
Mr Johnson told MPs that his blueprint would allow “the UK to take back control of our trade policy and our regulations” because it severs ties with the European bloc in more dramatic way than under Theresa May’s plans.
However, the Labour leader warned the proposal for a Canada-style free trade agreement would mean a “race to the bottom” on workers’ and environmental rights. He claimed “no Labour MP” could support Mr Johnson’s proposals.
Several of Mr Corbyn’s backbenchers were ready to break ranks to get Brexit over the line.
Addressing the Commmons, Mr Johnson told MPs he has made a “genuine attempt to bridge the chasm” to strike a fresh Brexit deal with the EU with his new blueprint.
He said: “This Government’s objective has always been to leave with a deal and these constructive and reasonable proposals show our seriousness of purpose.
“They do not deliver everything that we would’ve wished, they do represent a compromise, but to remain a prisoner of existing positions is to become a cause of deadlock rather than breakthrough.
“So we have made a genuine attempt to bridge the chasm, to reconcile the apparently irreconcilable and to go the extra mile as time runs short.”
He added: “While, as I stand here today, we are some way from a resolution, it is to the credit of our European friends that they have accepted the need to address these issues.”
Mr Johnson said he had “constructive” calls with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Irish premier Leo Varadkar.
But Mr Corbyn described it as a “cynical attempt” to cover up for Mr Johnson’s previous negotiating failures.
He added it was a “rehashed version” of proposals that would put the Good Friday agreement at risk.
He also accused Mr Johnson of wanting a “Trump-deal Brexit”.
He said: “It rejects any form of customs union, something demanded by every business and industry body in Britain and every trade union.
“They want to ditch EU standards on worker’s rights, regulations and consumer standards and engage in a race to the bottom.
“Deal or no-deal, deal or no-deal, this Government’s agenda is clear.
“They want a Trump-deal Brexit. A Trump-deal Brexit that would crash our economy and rip away the standards that put a floor under people’s rights at work, that protect our environment and protect our consumers.”
