Johnson and Corbyn trade Brexit barbs as UK election heats up

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson (left) wrote an open letter to Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn demanding that he clarify his strategy for Brexit. PHOTOS: REUTERS

LONDON (BLOOMBERG) - Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his main rival Jeremy Corbyn traded blows over Brexit as Britain prepares to vote next month on which of the two men should lead it out of the European Union.

Mr Johnson wrote an open letter to Mr Corbyn asking him to clarify his strategy for the divorce while the Labour leader accused the Prime Minister of "hijacking" Brexit to pursue an agenda of cutting workers rights and increasing the role of United States companies in the National Health Service (NHS).

The tone was set for a bruising campaign in the run-up to the Dec 12 vote.

"What Boris Johnson's Conservatives want is to hijack Brexit to unleash Thatcherism on steroids," Mr Corbyn will say in a speech on Tuesday (Nov 5), according to extracts released by his office. "They want a race to the bottom in standards and protections. They want to move us towards a more deregulated American model of how to run the economy."

Healthcare, vacations and workplace safety will come under threat if Mr Johnson gets the "Trump deal Brexit" he wants, Mr Corbyn will say in a speech to activists in south-east England.

Mr Johnson, for his part, wrote an open letter to the Labour leader demanding to know what his plan is for leaving the EU. He accused him of creating more "dither and delay" for businesses and families desperate to see Brexit "done".

"I am clear about my Brexit policy and how we will help this country move on - it is time for the Labour Party to be clear too," Mr Johnson wrote. "We cannot afford to spend 2020 fighting two more referendums offering the public more of the same confusion and indecision that have plagued the last three years."

The Prime Minister said he would see through his deal, agreed with the EU on Oct 17, and leave the bloc by the end of January, enabling the government to focus voters' priorities of schools, policing and the NHS.

He asked Mr Corbyn a series of questions about his policy, including whether Labour wants to remain in the EU's customs union and if the party believes the result of the 2016 Brexit referendum should be respected. Mr Johnson also queried the cost of the national vote Mr Corbyn wants to hold to approve any deal he agrees with the EU.

SPH Brightcove Video
Britain's pro-EU Liberal Democrats will not help Labour's Jeremy Corbyn become prime minister after next month's election.

Labour's policy, decided by delegates at the party's conference in September, is to renegotiate a deal with the EU then put it to a referendum with remaining in the EU as the other option. The party would not decide which side to support until the deal was done, but Mr Corbyn says the whole process could be completed in six months.

Agreeing on a new deal "will take no longer than three months because the deal will be based on terms we've already discussed with the EU, including a new customs union, a close single market relationship and guarantees of rights and protections," Mr Corbyn will say. "If you want to leave the EU without trashing our economy or selling out our NHS, you'll be able to vote for it. If you want to remain in the EU, you'll be able to vote for that."

Ms Jo Swinson, leader of the Liberal Democrats, will also be speaking on Tuesday as she launches her party's campaign at an event in central London.

She threatened legal action against the broadcaster ITV on Monday after she was left out of its planned leaders TV debate during the election campaign. She accused Mr Johnson and Mr Corbyn of trying to shut her out.

"I should be in this debate, if they're refusing to debate me it looks like they're sexist, or they're scared, or possibly both," Ms Swinson told reporters outside Parliament. "They've engaged in an establishment stitch-up."

SPH Brightcove Video
Opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn on Tuesday said Prime Minister Boris Johnson was seeking to hijack Brexit to "unleash Thatcherism on steroids" by slashing regulations and moving the United Kingdom towards an American economic model.

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