Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron needs left-wing voters to keep Britain in the European Union in a June referendum, but the opposition Labour leader has so far shown little enthusiasm to deliver them. Jeremy Corbyn has committed his centre-left Labour Party to campaign against a so-called Brexit, but his personal ambivalence and political calculations have left him dragging his heels.
"You can hardly imagine less activity," said Professor Sara Hobolt of the European Institute at the London School of Economics. She warned: "If this referendum is going to be won by the government, it's essential that Labour mobilise its voters to turn out actually to vote." Corbyn supported the "Remain" camp in recognition of the majority opinion in his party, but the lifetime socialist has never hidden his antipathy to the European project.
"Corbyn has suggested that the EU has moved too far toward a 'free market' model," said Matthew Goodwin, professor of political science at the University of Kent. Opinion polls indicate a slight lead for the "Remain" camp but the result remains in the balance, and up to 20 percent of voters remain undecided. "Without Labour votes, Britain will be out of Europe and Cameron out of office as the most disastrous prime minister since Lord North lost America," wrote left-wing commentator Polly Toynbee in The Guardian.
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