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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/jun/27/corbyn-mocks-may-over-brexit-jobs-and-johnson-at-pmqs
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| Corbyn mocks May over Brexit, jobs and Johnson at PMQs | Corbyn mocks May over Brexit, jobs and Johnson at PMQs |
| (4 months later) | |
| Jeremy Corbyn has used prime minister’s questions to repeatedly mock Theresa May about her cabinet divisions on Brexit, saying the splits and indecision are putting thousands of jobs at risk. | Jeremy Corbyn has used prime minister’s questions to repeatedly mock Theresa May about her cabinet divisions on Brexit, saying the splits and indecision are putting thousands of jobs at risk. |
| In often noisy exchanges, the Labour leader also made several scornful references to Boris Johnson over the foreign secretary’s decision to miss the key vote on Heathrow expansion by being in Afghanistan, and for his reported comments about businesses that had expressed concerns over Brexit. | In often noisy exchanges, the Labour leader also made several scornful references to Boris Johnson over the foreign secretary’s decision to miss the key vote on Heathrow expansion by being in Afghanistan, and for his reported comments about businesses that had expressed concerns over Brexit. |
| Corbyn asked: “Isn’t the truth that the real risk to jobs in our country is a prime minister who is having to negotiate round the clock with her own cabinet to stop it falling apart, rather than negotiate to defend jobs of workers in this country?” | Corbyn asked: “Isn’t the truth that the real risk to jobs in our country is a prime minister who is having to negotiate round the clock with her own cabinet to stop it falling apart, rather than negotiate to defend jobs of workers in this country?” |
| May dismissed the line of attack, saying she was “putting jobs at the heart of what we do for Brexit” and hitting back at Corbyn over Labour’s policies on Brexit and the economy. | May dismissed the line of attack, saying she was “putting jobs at the heart of what we do for Brexit” and hitting back at Corbyn over Labour’s policies on Brexit and the economy. |
| Corbyn again used all his PMQs questions to focus on Brexit, particularly the conflicting messages from ministers including Johnson and the business secretary, Greg Clark. | Corbyn again used all his PMQs questions to focus on Brexit, particularly the conflicting messages from ministers including Johnson and the business secretary, Greg Clark. |
| After Johnson reportedly responded to warnings about Brexit from Airbus by saying “fuck business”, Clark said companies were “entitled to be listened to with respect”. | After Johnson reportedly responded to warnings about Brexit from Airbus by saying “fuck business”, Clark said companies were “entitled to be listened to with respect”. |
| Corbyn said: “The business secretary believes that business is entitled to be listened to with respect. I’m sorry to see the foreign secretary is not here today with us. He takes a very different view, using an Anglo-Saxon term to make his point. Which is the prime minister’s view?” | Corbyn said: “The business secretary believes that business is entitled to be listened to with respect. I’m sorry to see the foreign secretary is not here today with us. He takes a very different view, using an Anglo-Saxon term to make his point. Which is the prime minister’s view?” |
| May responded: “This party and this government has always been a party that backs business and will continue to back business.” | May responded: “This party and this government has always been a party that backs business and will continue to back business.” |
| The Labour leader said he took that response to be “a thumbs down to the foreign secretary”. | The Labour leader said he took that response to be “a thumbs down to the foreign secretary”. |
| After May criticised him for not voting for the expansion of Heathrow, Corbyn took the opportunity to again mock Johnson. | After May criticised him for not voting for the expansion of Heathrow, Corbyn took the opportunity to again mock Johnson. |
| “The foreign secretary didn’t back it either,” he said. “But in his own way he was helping the aviation industry by spending 14 hours in a plane for a 10-minute meeting in Afghanistan.” | “The foreign secretary didn’t back it either,” he said. “But in his own way he was helping the aviation industry by spending 14 hours in a plane for a 10-minute meeting in Afghanistan.” |
| Later during PMQs, the Labour MP Mary Creagh prompted laughs, including from some Tories, with a question also making fun of Johnson’s comments about business: “Will the prime minister join me in congratulating the foreign secretary for expressing so pithily what her hard Brexit will do to British jobs and British businesses?” | Later during PMQs, the Labour MP Mary Creagh prompted laughs, including from some Tories, with a question also making fun of Johnson’s comments about business: “Will the prime minister join me in congratulating the foreign secretary for expressing so pithily what her hard Brexit will do to British jobs and British businesses?” |
| The bulk of Corbyn’s attack was based on what he said was the threat to jobs from May’s Brexit plans, particularly the idea of a no-deal departure, which he called a “phoney threat” and which he urged her to rule out. | The bulk of Corbyn’s attack was based on what he said was the threat to jobs from May’s Brexit plans, particularly the idea of a no-deal departure, which he called a “phoney threat” and which he urged her to rule out. |
| Corbyn read out a message he had received from Andrew, a Honda employee in Swindon, who expressed worry about his post-Brexit prospects. The Labour leader rebuked Tory MPs who were barracking him, saying: “I would not laugh if I was you. These are real people with real jobs and real concerns.” | Corbyn read out a message he had received from Andrew, a Honda employee in Swindon, who expressed worry about his post-Brexit prospects. The Labour leader rebuked Tory MPs who were barracking him, saying: “I would not laugh if I was you. These are real people with real jobs and real concerns.” |
| After May accused Labour of seeking to “frustrate Brexit”, Corbyn responded: “I doubt that Andrew from Swindon is alone among skilled workers where he goes on to say: ‘I will hold the prime minister and her party culpable if my job and those of my colleagues at Honda end up being under threat.’” | After May accused Labour of seeking to “frustrate Brexit”, Corbyn responded: “I doubt that Andrew from Swindon is alone among skilled workers where he goes on to say: ‘I will hold the prime minister and her party culpable if my job and those of my colleagues at Honda end up being under threat.’” |
| In his now-traditional summing-up attack in the final question, Corbyn said the “future of whole industries” was at stake. | In his now-traditional summing-up attack in the final question, Corbyn said the “future of whole industries” was at stake. |
| “She rules out a customs union, the leader of the house rules out the prime minister’s preferred option, and reality rules out a maximum facilitation model,” he said. “That only leaves no deal, which she refuses to rule out. She is putting jobs at risk. Sadly, it’s not those of the warring egos in her cabinet.” | “She rules out a customs union, the leader of the house rules out the prime minister’s preferred option, and reality rules out a maximum facilitation model,” he said. “That only leaves no deal, which she refuses to rule out. She is putting jobs at risk. Sadly, it’s not those of the warring egos in her cabinet.” |
| May responded by citing a long list of what she said were non-Brexit achievements, ranging from a replacement for Trident to lower stamp duty. She added: “We’ve triggered article 50. We’ve agreed an implementation period. We passed the EU withdrawal bill – a Britain fit for the future and leaving the European Union on 29 March 2019.” | May responded by citing a long list of what she said were non-Brexit achievements, ranging from a replacement for Trident to lower stamp duty. She added: “We’ve triggered article 50. We’ve agreed an implementation period. We passed the EU withdrawal bill – a Britain fit for the future and leaving the European Union on 29 March 2019.” |
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| Jeremy Corbyn | Jeremy Corbyn |
| Theresa May | Theresa May |
| Boris Johnson | Boris Johnson |
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