"I will adopt as prime minister, if I am, at the time, a neutral stance so that I can credibly carry out the results of that [referendum]," Corbyn told a BBC audience on Friday. Corbyn had hinted for some time that he would remain neutral on the topic, but had not addressed it directly until now.
Some Labour Party MPs have nevertheless vowed to campaign against Britain's departure from the EU. Scottish Labour's Richard Leonard said on Friday that his sub-party will continue to push back against Brexit, even if Corbyn secures a better deal with the EU next year and puts it to a referendum.
While Prime Minister Boris Johnson intends to stick by the existing deal between London and Brussels and withdraw from the EU in January, Corbyn has promised to negotiate a fresh agreement and hold a second referendum on that deal next year, essentially giving the British public a chance to leave with the deal, or remain in the EU.
"I want us to come together to put the Brexit issue finally to the British people to decide between 'leave with a good deal' or 'remain and reform the European Union'," he said in September.
Comment: Reform the EU? Now there's an idea...
While Corbyn may view neutrality as his best bet before next month's general election, the Conservative Party has accused him of fence-sitting.
"Jeremy Corbyn has just confirmed that he has no plan for Brexit - he will not even say if he thinks we should leave or remain," read a Tory response to his statement.
"Net zero means the closure of much of the UK’s oil and gas sector, unless carbon capture and storage technologies can be implemented at scale. Doing this by 2030 poses an immediate threat to the 280,000 jobs estimated to be supported by the sector. The 2030 target would mean the complete turnover of the country’s vehicle stock in a decade, with huge implications for the UK’s automotive industries, not to mention drivers. And it would require severe restrictions on flying, as low-carbon aviation fuels are not likely to be ready at scale by then."
Not to mention all the fascist crap that's gonna come through in the slipstream. Banning meat. Forcing kids to go vegan, etc, etc.
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