Jeremy Corbyn is to make a major speech on the issue of immigration after Labour heartlands across the UK voted to leave the EU in the historic 23 June referendum. The ballot result saw 52% of voters back Brexit, while 48% of the electorate voted to remain a member of the 28-nation-bloc.
David Cameron, who called the referendum and led the Remain campaign, announced his intention to resign as UK prime minister after the defeat. Meanwhile, Labour MPs Margaret Hodge and Ann Coffey have submitted a motion of no confidence in a bid axe Corbyn as Labour leader.
But a top Corbyn aide told IBTimes UK that the left-wingers 25 June London address will definitely not be a resignation speech, despite Corbyn backing a Remain vote at the referendum. The spokesman added: We wont be addressing those particular MPs, but we will continue to talk about the real issues that now face people.
Labours Frank Field, the Work and Pensions Committee chair, branded the referendum result as the first clear revolt against globalisation and its undermining of working-class living standards. The Brexit campaigner said: The major task from now on is to reassure Europe that we want our negotiations to be successful for them, but also for Great Britain.
To that end, the government needs to be reformed to reflect accurately the views in the Tory Party in Parliament and the country and have a negotiating team that brings the country together. Above all, we now need to think carefully about what our next moves are in disengaging from Europe. The last thing we require is precipitative action that serves no ones interests.
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John Mann, a Vote Leave spokesman and Labour MP for Bassetlaw, told IBTimes UK two days ahead of the referendum that his party would have to move very, very quickly if Labour heartlands, such as the industrial North and Midlands, voted to leave and the result was remain.
Mann has since urged Corbyn to speak to Labour voters. No, [he shouldnt resign] in the short term, he told BBC News. Jeremy should be talking to Labour voters, both with coming up with an agenda of what should happen because it is Labour voters who won this referendum.
Immigration was a top issue throughout the EU referendum campaign, with the Vote Leave group, backed by Boris Johnson and Michael Gove, committing their support to an Australian-style immigration points system.
Cameron had promised to cut net migration levels down to tens of thousands, but the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics showed that the figure had climbed to 333,000 in the year to 2015.
