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As his Brexit talks with Theresa May finally collapse, Jeremy Corbyn has the most to lose

Inside Westminster: With the governing party in such disarray, Labour should not be content with second place behind Nigel Farage at the European elections next week

Andrew Grice
Friday 17 May 2019 15:47 BST
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Jeremy Corbyn says the Government 'has not fundamentally shifted its view' during cross-party Brexit talks

Labour isn’t working. The famous Tory poster, which helped Margaret Thatcher win power 40 years ago this month, could be applied equally to Labour’s campaign for next Thursday’s European parliament elections.

The party is losing support to two rivals that Jeremy Corbyn thought he had seen off – the Liberal Democrats and Greens. Their crystal clear anti-Brexit pitch contrasts with Corbyn’s fuzzy approach, which is alienating Remainers without keeping Labour Leavers on board.

Figures I have seen show how Labour’s campaign is not reaching its natural supporters on social media, a far cry from its huge success in this area when Corbyn deprived the Conservatives of their overall majority at the 2017 general election. The statistics reveal that Labour is currently engaging less with its own Facebook audience than any other party. Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party is way out in front with 18 per cent; Change UK and Ukip are at around 4 per cent; Labour is on zero, trailing the Lib Dems, Greens and Tories.

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