UK opposition leader warns against EU exit

LONDON

British opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn warned against the “disaster” of leaving the EU on Thursday.

The Labour Party leader said a “Brexit negotiation would be disaster for the majority of the British people” and spoke out against the “myth making and prophecies of doom” that had dominated the debate around the U.K.’s June 23 referendum on remaining in the EU.

“The threat to the British people is not the European Union, it is a Conservative government here in Britain, seeking to undermine the good things we have achieved in Europe and resisting changes that would benefit the ordinary people of Britain,” he said in a speech at an engineering institute in London.

Setting out the case for Britain remaining in Europe, he added: “We can reform to get a better deal for consumers and strengthen worker rights.”

Corbyn, who was elected leader of the center-left party in September, also spoke out against the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the U.S. and EU.

Critics say the deal would reduce wages and weaken environmental and consumer protection and labor rights. There are also concerns it will leave the way open for U.S. companies to effectively privatize public services in Europe. Supporters claim it will increase trade and create millions of jobs on both sides of the Atlantic by removing trade tariffs.

“A few weeks ago the French president, Francois Hollande, said he would veto the deal as it stands and to become law any deal would have to be ratified by each member state,” Corbyn said. “So today we give this pledge, as it stands, we too would reject TTIP - and veto it in government.”