The_Guardian_-_2016-12-29

ecause of the high level of integration with Europe. He also cast doubts on whether Labour would
support a system in which people could only come if they had a job.
“Well then, that will work in reverse for British people going abroad, which would be difficult to
implement and maybe is counter to the principles of the European market.”
However, he did set out plans for a policy – which he is expected to stress much more frequently in
2017 – which could result in migration numbers falling. “What we need to address is exploitation,
undercutting and the way in which companies are trying to destroy industrial agreements by ignoring
what they should be doing, which is paying people properly and not bringing people in to undercut,”
said Corbyn.
The Labour leader said he was building alliances with socialist parties in other countries because the
final Brexit deal hammered out over two years after article 50 is triggered will be put to the European
parliament.
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Labour is disintegrating
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“Presumably all national parliaments will want a say as well, so our relations with socialist groups
in every national parliament could be important,” said Corbyn, before insisting that British MPs also
had to be given a vote on the deal.
It is not clear whether the government is prepared to offer that or not. The Brexit secretary, David
Davis, has hinted that MPs could be given a vote, but May was unwilling to offer that commitment
when she appeared in front of the liaison committee last week.
Corbyn also urged all members of the leftwing campaigning group Momentum to join the Labour
party. He also encouraged the hundreds of thousands of people who joined Labour to back him to get
more involved in campaigning, amid claims from MPs that new members were failing to turn out.
He said he wanted all MPs to move on from the summer’s leadership contest and insisted that the
party was in a strong position despite some dire recent poll ratings. Corbyn said he hoped to gain
seats in May’s local elections and claimed the media was ignoring Labour’s successes.
“I can’t pretend the two byelection results were good,” he said about results in Richmond Park in
London and Sleaford, Lincolnshire. “But on the same day we gained a ward in Telford … with a 20%
increase in vote, and overall majority on council. We’ve never won that ward ever – no media
reported that. We held a ward in Lancaster.” He added: “Results vary; I want to do better.”
Corbyn dismissed reports that he has told friends he is ready to step down in 2019 because of his age,
saying: “Friends is obviously a very loose term these days – I’ve never said that. I’m very happy