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Jeremy Corbyn would ‘relish a head-to-head debate with Theresa May’ on her Brexit deal, says Labour

Jeremy Corbyn and Theresa May could be heading for a Brexit TV debate (Picture: Getty)
Jeremy Corbyn and Theresa May could be heading for a Brexit TV debate (Picture: Getty)

Jeremy Corbyn would “relish” a head-to-head debate with Theresa May about her Brexit deal, it has been reported.

Sky News said a Labour Party spokesman made the comment following reports the prime minister would herself challenge the leader of the opposition to a Brexit TV debate.

The Telegraph reported that Mrs May wants to face off against Mr Corbyn in a televised debate on a Sunday evening primetime slot.

Should Mr Corbyn decline her offer, Mrs May would go for a Question Time style format with a studio audience hosted by presenter David Dimbleby, the Telegraph said.

A Labour spokesman said: “Jeremy would relish a head-to-head debate with Theresa May about her botched Brexit deal and the future of our country.”

On Sunday, the other 27 EU leaders approved the terms of her Brexit deal, paving the way for a vote in parliament on her strategy.

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Labour’s Brexit secretary, Sir Keir Starmer, said Mr Corbyn would be happy to debate the prime minister, adding: “It sounds very much like a general election campaign, I wonder if that is where it is heading.”

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Monday that Mrs May doesn’t have “a Plan B” if, as predicted, her deal is voted down by MPs.

Earlier, Ireland’s leader, Leo Varadkar, made similar comments.

He said the best outcome for everyone would be if the Britain remained in the EU, but given that was not going to happen, the draft agreement was “next best” thing.

In her Commons statement the prime minister will say: “There is a choice which MPs will have to make.

Mr Varadkar made the comments after the endorsement of the draft withdrawal text at a special meeting of the EU Council in Brussels on Sunday.

“There isn’t a plan B,” he said.

“The truth is what we have here is the best deal that is available both for the United Kingdom and for the European Union.”

Mr Varadkar said the “entire European Union” was of the view that the deal could not be renegotiated.

On Monday, Mrs May will challenge MPs to back her Brexit plan or risk crashing out of the European Union without an agreement.

She will face the Commons after EU leaders endorsed the deal and made it clear it was not up for renegotiation.

Mrs May will tell the Commons “with absolute certainty” that “there is not a better deal available”.

She will warn rejecting her deal will “open the door to more division and uncertainty, with all the risks that will entail”.

The leaders of the remaining 27 member states took less than 40 minutes to approve the deal on Sunday.

Mrs May will now put it to a vote of MPs before Christmas but faces a battle to get it through the House of Commons in the face of intense opposition on both the Leave and Remain-supporting wings of her party.

Theresa May will tell MPs to accept the Brexit deal agreed by the EU (Picture: PA)
Theresa May will tell MPs to accept the Brexit deal agreed by the EU (Picture: PA)

She has already started a campaign of selling her deal directly to the public in the hope their support can win round MPs opposed to the plan before the Commons vote, widely expected in the week beginning December 10.

“We can back this deal, deliver on the vote of the referendum and move on to building a brighter future of opportunity and prosperity for all our people.

“Or this House can choose to reject this deal and go back to square one. It would open the door to more division and more uncertainty, with all the risks that will entail.”

More than 80 Tories have rejected the deal, with opposition parties – and Mrs May’s allies in the DUP – also set to oppose it.