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Jeremy Corbyn gave the second kick off of his election campaign with the mission almost impossible to clarify his position on Brexit. "It's not that complicated," he said during an election ceremony in Harlow. "People accuse me of trying to represent both sides of the debate at the same time, the people who voted for the exit and those who voted for permanence. And they know what? They are right."
"Why am I going to speak only for half of the country?" Corbyn explained. "Anyone who aspires to be prime minister must speak for the entire country. Labor does not represent only 52% or 48%, but 99% . The Labor Party is determined to unite a divided country."
And then he promised to resolve the Brexit "faster than Boris Johnson", in six months and following a two-phase plan: renegotiation with Brussels and submitting the agreement to a second referendum. He preferred not to specify what his position would be in a new popular consultation, nor to venture what would happen if he won "permanence" (the option backed by 70% of Labor voters).
Corbyn also decided to mark the differences between his version of the "soft" Brexit and the one defended by Boris Johnson. "The Brexit that the 'tories' want is intended to cancel workers' rights, environmental protections and food security, in addition to selling our public health to American corporations," Corbyn warned. "The commercial agreement they intend with the United States will be thatcherism with steroids .
In clear contrast to Corbyn and his "real change," Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson launched his campaign under the explicit 'Stop Brexit' poster. Swinson ruled out a post-election coalition to take Corbyn to Downing Street and accused the Labor leader of calculated ambiguity: "Even today, if you ask him if he wants to leave or stay, he doesn't know what to say."
The liberal-democratic leader, however, reserved her best darts against the 'premier' Boris Johnson. "Because of his big lies, his broken promises and his attitude towards women, Johnson is following in the footsteps of Donald Trump," he said. "He lied to the Queen, lied to Parliament and lied to the country. The United Kingdom deserves better than a British Trump ."
Swinson was offered to voters as "the only political force that directly opposes Brexit." His party has opened the doors to "tactical voting" in 50 constituencies with the Green Party and with the Welsh nationalists of Plaid Cymru through the United to Remain platform (backed by the millionaire Julian Dunkerton, owner of the Superdry chain).
The campaign starts
The campaign of the elections of December 12 has started today almost simultaneously to the dissolution of Parliament, although the 'premier' Boris Johnson decided to keep his cartridges for Wednesday, after his planned meeting with the Queen. The latest ICM poll for Reuters shows how the crack between conservatives and Labor is narrowing (38% to 31%) . A difference of less than 10 points is not enough guarantee for a clear 12-D electoral victory, let alone for the absolute majority to which Johnson aspires. The survey also demonstrates a downward trend in marginal parties - 15% for Liberal Democrats and 9% for the Brexit Party - after the "earthquake" of the European elections.
Liberal Democrats, who currently have 20 deputies, aspire to overcome the ceiling of 50, as does the Scottish National Party (SNP), with the second independence referendum as a "flag." Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price has also revived "the spirit of independence and optimism" of the Welsh in the 12-D elections. In Northern Ireland, meanwhile, Sinn Féin has decided to bet on the tactical vote with other forces own permanence to try to win the game to the Unionist Democratic Party (DUP).
The leader of the Brexit Party, Nigel Farage, in the meantime put on boxing gloves at the start of his electoral ride in Labor territory, in the cities of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. MEP Farage - who failed in his previous nine attempts to reach Westminster - has decided not to compete for a seat of his own and nevertheless wrap 600 candidates from his party .
Farage echoed his friend Donald Trump and asked the 'premier' Johnson for an electoral pact in favor of Brexit. Johnson's 'no' has triggered Farage's counterattack, determined to deploy his blue army (of course) throughout British geography. The attempts to reach a truce by the representatives of the hard wing of the Conservative Party, Jacob Rees-Mogg and Steve Baker, have not deterred the leader of the Brexit Party, which has however very difficult to achieve some seat below the barrier of the 10% (the British system of the "winner takes it all", district by district, greatly harms the secondary parties).
"Farage may ultimately be responsible for the evaporation of Brexit," warned Conservative Deputy Therese Coffey, warning about the risk of a pro-Brexit vote split that ultimately benefits the Labor Party. The nationalist leader has warned, however, that his goal will not be so much to compete with the 'tories' but to steal votes from Jeremy Corbyn in his fiefdoms in northern England.
"The Labor Party has totally lost contact with ordinary people," Farage warned as he passed through Bolsover. "They want to negotiate again, they want us to stay in the customs union and in the single market and they want to call a referendum in which they can vote between permanence and permanence. I don't think that a single Brexit supporter can vote for they".
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