Corbyn describes PM May’s customs unions plans as “implausible” during the weekly session of Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) in the House of Commons today, as reported by the Guardian newspaper.
“They [the British government] have two options, neither of which are workable. They have wasted weeks working up proposals that the EU said was unworkable, that her own foreign secretary described as crazy,” Leader of the Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn said on Wednesday.
His comments come after the UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson described May’s customs union plan as a "crazy system" earlier this week.
READ MORE: 'Crazy System': Boris Johnson Hits Out at May's Brexit Customs Plan
The leader of the opposition went on to claim that the negotiations are a “shambles” and said the House of Commons should debate key bills related to the UK’s withdrawal from the EU.
“These negotiations are in a shambles. This house is being denied the opportunity to debate crucial legislation affecting the future of our economy and communities all over Britain. When will we debate the trade bill and the customs bill? She’s [the PM] had 23 months to get ready for it.”
PM May retaliated by calling Labour’s proposed post-Brexit customs union arrangement with the EU as “crazy” and said work is still being done to find a solution.
“What’s crazy is a leader of the opposition who for years opposed [US trade deal] TTIP and now favors a policy which would mean Labour signing up to TTIP with no say in it whatsoever,” British Prime Minister Theresa May said on May 9.
British negotiators have struggled to find a suitable arrangement with their EU counterparts in Brexit talks, and the government has suffered a string of defeats to its EU Withdrawal Bill in the House of Lords, with the most recent defeat, on Tuesday, backing the UK’s continued membership of EU agencies.
READ MORE: UK Government Once Again Defeated in House of Lords on EU Bill