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16 Jan, 2019 12:20

Theresa May keeps attacking Jeremy Corbyn, plans to sideline him from cross-party Brexit talks

Theresa May keeps attacking Jeremy Corbyn, plans to sideline him from cross-party Brexit talks

UK Prime Minister Theresa May’s plan to enter into cross-party Brexit discussions without the official opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn, has been widely condemned by MPs and political commentators on social media.

In the immediate aftermath of the crushing defeat of her Brexit deal in the House of Commons on Tuesday, May stated that she would now seek cross-party talks with senior politicians to find “genuinely negotiable” solutions which she can take to EU negotiators.

One of those senior politicians who wont be included in talks with the PM is the Labour leader, according to the leader of the house, Andrea Leadsom. In an interview with BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Leadsom dismissed any notion that Corbyn would be invited to discuss the best way forward.

She insisted Corbyn had an opportunity in parliament on Tuesday to lay out “his alternative proposals,” claiming “he clearly has none.”

The apparent sidelining of the Labour leader has provoked heavy criticism from some notable MPs, particularly those so-called “senior politicians” the PM could be potentially seeking out for talks.

MPs such as Yvette Cooper, Labour chair of the Commons home affairs committee, who has taken to social media to label May’s cross-party proposals without Corbyn as “ludicrous & unworkable.”

Former Labour leader Ed Miliband has claimed any talks without the official opposition leader would demonstrate “a woeful failure” by the PM “to rise to the moment.” Other MPs and political commentators were quick to denounce May’s planned discussions.

It comes after UK MPs voted down May’s Brexit plan on Tuesday by 432 votes to 202 – a margin of 230 – the worst defeat for any British government in over 100 years.

READ MORE: Brexit: 71 UK opposition Labour party lawmakers back second referendum – media

The EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier has told the European Parliament that the risk of no deal on Brexit has never been higher, and that he fears “more than ever” a chaotic UK departure from the bloc.

If May thought she might find some words of comfort from EU leaders after her humiliating defeat, then she would have been left feeling disappointed, following French President Emmanuel Macron’s comments on Wednesday. He has insisted that the EU has “reached the maximum” of what it can offer the UK and will not compromise European interests for the sake of resolving a British political crisis.

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