THE UK Government has signalled that more cash could be made available for deprived communities as part of a post-Brexit “national renewal” programme but denied this was a cash-for-votes exercise to get Labour MPs to back its Brexit Plan.
It has been suggested Theresa May is preparing to persuade Labour members who represent Leave constituencies, primarily in the north of England and including former coal-mining communities, with offers of new investment.
Following this week’s range of Brexit votes, several Labour MPs defied their leader Jeremy Corbyn, and allies of the PM are now hopeful that in a final meaningful vote on the way forward, due next month, they can be relied upon to back the Government’s final withdrawal plan.
Whitehall officials are meeting with trade union officials to discuss a range of issues, including environmental rights, health and safety protections and workers’ rights. These are due to lead to further talks between Greg Clark, the Business Secretary, and Stephen Barclay, the Brexit Secretary, with trade union leaders in the coming days.
Mrs May and senior ministers have already had talks with Labour MPs and these too are likely to continue into next week before the PM goes to Brussels to present her new proposals, particularly on the issue of the Irish backstop.
One Labour rebel, John Mann, who was one of 14 MPs who voted against an amendment by Yvette Cooper - supported by the Opposition - which would have paved the way to delay Britain's Exit from the EU, urged the PM to "show us the money".
The Nottinghamshire MP, who is a consistent critic of Jeremy Corbyn, tweeted: “Our areas voted Leave and it is time that we had the investment we need. Our areas need to see a fund established that is transformative. The forgotten areas of Britain who voted Leave want jobs, rights and investment."
Asked if the PM was trying to woo Labour MPs in Leave constituencies to the Government side, her spokesman said: “The PM has a long-standing commitment to tackle inequalities between communities. We are determined to lead a programme of national renewal post-Brexit by rebuilding and reconnecting communities, driving prosperity and unleashing the potential and creativity of hard-working people in every party of our country. No community should feel they are left behind.”
Asked if this was not an exercise of cash-for-votes being considered by Mrs May, he replied: “I absolutely wouldn’t characterise it like that, no.”
Asked if Labour MPs in Leave areas had been asked to come forward for specific requests for funding, he said: “There is nothing that I am aware of. The Government is meeting with MPs from across the House. They are discussing a wide range of subjects.”
During a trip to the Midlands, Mr Corbyn was asked about Labour MPs being enticed by offers of Government money for their constituencies if they backed the PM’s Brexit Plan.
The Labour leader stressed how many mining areas had been “disgracefully treated by this Tory Government and indeed previous ones ever since the miners' strike in the 1980s”.
However, he pointed out: “But the Brexit plan proposed by Theresa May doesn't solve that any more than the Government's austerity programme is going to solve any of that.
"I simply say to people, if you voted Leave or voted Remain, your need for a government who will invest in your communities are exactly the same; we need a government that is going to invest in communities and create good-quality, secure jobs."
Asked if he was worried that Labour MPs would help the PM get her Withdrawal Agreement through, the Labour leader replied: "I say to all my colleagues, Labour MPs, our conference last year came to a unanimous position on the three principles of the Labour plan.
"They are the creation of a customs union with the European Union for Britain, access to the single market and legal protection of the consumer, environmental and workers' rights."
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