Jeremy Corbyn has reiterated his refusal to discuss Brexit options with Theresa May until she rules out the idea of a ‘no-deal’ departure, saying that he can no longer trust the prime minister after she postponed the key Brexit vote in December.
Answering a question after a speech in Hastings, East Sussex, the Labour leader was asked why he was the only party leader in the Commons to refuse one-on-one talks with May, an offer she extended after a failed no-confidence vote in the Commons and in the wake of her Brexit deal being overwhelmingly rejected by MPs the day before.
Corbyn said May was still threatening people with the idea of ‘no-deal’, and thus there was no option but to refuse the offer, which he called “a stunt”.
Corbyn said he last met May in early December before the initially planned date for the main Brexit vote, which she delayed at the last minute.
“I did discuss with her the parliamentary process and we agreed there would be a vote and it would be on December 11,” he said.
“Two days before that she cancelled the vote and delayed things for over a month in order to continue this idea of running down the clock by threatening everyone with no deal unless we voted for her deal.” 
However, Corbyn said he was “more than happy to put forward Labour’s point of view, and will continue to do that” – saying this would mainly take place in parliament.
Corbyn was speaking in Hastings, the highly marginal seat of the work and pensions secretary, Amber Rudd – a day after a Labour no-confidence motion in May was voted down in the Commons.
Corbyn pledged to push again for a general election, and the Labour leader remained uncommitted on the idea of a second referendum, saying again that it remained one of several options if an election did not happen.
In response to another question, Corbyn said again that he thought it likely that Article 50 would need to be extended beyond March 29 to give more time for a deal.
“Quite clearly, if no agreement has been reached within the time that it could be implemented before the end of March then obviously the idea of extending the date, extending Article 50, does come into play, and indications are that may well be the case,” he said.
Asked if a Labour manifesto would include a pledge to stay in the EU, Corbyn reiterated that this would be a communal matter, saying: “Our manifesto will not be decided by me alone. I will be one person in the room.” In his speech, Corbyn made a fresh attack on May for her response to the defeat of her deal.
“The scale of Tuesday’s vote against it was so great there can now be no question of tweaks or sweeteners from Brussels to bring it back to life,” he said. “The government’s deal is dead. She put it to parliament and it was emphatically rejected.
“The prime minister seems unable to grasp what has happened. She still seems prepared to send the country hurtling towards the cliff edge.” To get a deal through parliament, May “has to ditch the red lines and get serious about proposals for the future” he said.
“Wednesday night’s offer of talks with party leaders turned out to be simply a stunt, not the serious attempt to engage with the new reality that’s needed.” The starting point for any talks “must be that the threat of a disastrous ‘no-deal’ outcome is ruled out”, he said.
“If she won’t accept the will of parliament and take ‘no deal’ off the table, it will show that she simply isn’t serious about reaching a deal.”