Labour 'off our bloody rockers' not to back Remain, says Emily Thornberry

The shadow foreign secretary piles pressure on party leader Jeremy Corbyn to take an anti-Brexit position in all circumstances.

By Greg Heffer, political reporter

Image: Emily Thornberry claimed 'a dwindling minority' want a no-deal Brexit

A senior Labour MP has suggested the party would be "off our bloody rockers" not to back remaining in the EU.
Shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry piled pressure on party leader Jeremy Corbyn to take an anti-Brexit position in all circumstances.

She claimed Prime Minister Boris Johnson is "trying to push us out of the EU without a deal at all" and that "a dwindling minority of the British public" want a no-deal Brexit.

The Labour frontbencher told Sky News Australia: "The vast majority of people in Britain, if they want to leave, believe it is in our interests to leave with a deal with the EU.
"But, in fact, their concern is we that are not going to get a deal at all.

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"If it means we are not going to get a deal at all, I genuinely believe that the vast majority of people in Britain will want to remain.
"Which means that I think that any deal, or no deal, or whatever this government comes up with, should be put back to the British people so they can be asked, 'is this what you voted for? Because if you did, that's fine.'

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"But we don't think it is what you voted for.
"I am firmly of the view that Labour's policy should be that whatever deal the government comes up with, no ifs, no buts as Boris Johnson says, we should put it back to the people.
"We should have another referendum, and Labour should campaign to remain."

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Ms Thornberry added that, during her visit to Australia, "practically all" the people that she's spoken to "have said if we get an opportunity to remain in the EU, we should take it".
"Because if we don't, we're off our bloody rockers," she added.
Mr Corbyn told Sky News' Sophy Ridge on Sunday programme that Labour would campaign to stay in the EU if Mr Johnson pursues a no-deal Brexit.
He also said Labour would back a second EU referendum on any Brexit deal - including one negotiated by a possible Labour government.
However, he failed to commit to campaigning for Remain if Labour put a deal to a referendum.

A spokesman for Mr Corbyn recently said Labour is not a "Remain party".
"We are not in that zone," he said.
"We have never said that. We have our policy, we have said we will campaign for Remain against a damaging Tory deal or a no-deal in a referendum.
"But there obviously are other circumstances which could occur.
"And we have said also that we would support a referendum, a public vote, on any deal."
Ms Thornberry was previously among Labour shadow ministers to pressure Mr Corbyn to take a more pro-Remain position after Labour's poor performance at the EU elections.
She was later overlooked when Mr Corbyn needed someone to deputise for him at Prime Minister's Questions - a role she usually fills - which was viewed as Ms Thornberry's punishment for putting herself at odds with Labour's Brexit position.