Labour leader: A no-deal Brexit would put U.K. at the 'mercy of Trump'

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Monday he is "marginally more optimistic" that a Brexit deal will be reached before the Oct. 31 deadline, but opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn said he believes Johnson is more focused on "cozying up" to President Trump, because a "no-deal Brexit is really a Trump-deal Brexit."

Writing in The Independent, Corbyn said if there isn't a deal, it won't "return sovereignty" to Britain, but will instead "put us at the mercy of Trump and the big U.S. corporations dying to get their teeth into our NHS [National Health Service], sound the death knell for our steel industry, and strip back our food standards and animal welfare protections."

Corbyn also accused Conservatives of "going out with their begging bowl to billionaire hedge funders to raise cash for an autumn general election. The chaos and uncertainty caused by a no-deal Brexit is a potential goldmine for speculators betting against the pound."

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Under a no-deal Brexit, the United Kingdom would leave the European Union immediately, without a withdrawal agreement, a situation critics say would send the country into a tailspin. Former Prime Minister Theresa May tried and failed three times to get her Brexit plan, which called for a 21-month transition period, passed by Parliament. Once Parliament is back in session after its summer break, Corbyn wants to hold a vote of no confidence against Johnson's government, BBC reports. Under his plan, he would become prime minister, try to extend the Brexit deadline, and then call a general election.