Britain’s opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn will use a keynote conference speech Wednesday to present himself as the man to lead Britain but faces a daunting task uniting his rebellious MPs over the divisive Brexit question.
The veteran leftist is expected to dodge direct commitments on the toxic issue, and instead advance a radical domestic agenda built around themes of social justice.He hopes it will appeal to voters who could be heading to the polls if Prime Minister Theresa May’s government collapses under the pressure of Brexit before Britain is set to leave the EU in March.
Corbyn is due to use his speech in Liverpool, north west England, to promise an expansion of free childcare for poor households, saying that “driving up standards of childcare will make that vital difference for millions of our children”.But Brexit has loomed large over the four-day party event, causing ructions that the leader will be keen to avoid on Wednesday.
“I think Corbyn’s speech will be built around the theme of government-in-waiting, ‘this lot have failed on everything from Brexit to the NHS, they’ve let the country down, it’s time for a change’,” Anand Menon, Professor of European Politics and Foreign Affairs at King’s College London, told.
With the Brexit negotiations entering their final phase, a conference spat between two senior MPs gave Corbyn a taste of the showdown looming within the party. Shadow finance minister John McDonnell, a key Corbyn ally, and Brexit secretary Keir Starmer both publicly pressured Corbyn on whether or not to rule out another referendum on Britain’s EU membership.
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