Jeremy Corbyn would consider giving Chequers to homeless family if he becomes prime minister

Shadow chancellor John McDonnell said he would do the same with 11 Downing Street
Ted Hennessey4 December 2019
WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Jeremy Corbyn has said he would give Chequers to a homeless family if he wins the General Election on December 12.

The Labour leader has followed on from John McDonnell, who said he would do the same with 11 Downing Street, if he becomes chancellor.​

The sixteenth-century residence in Chiltern Hills, Buckinghamshire, is the prime minister's country residence. Theresa May sought cabinet agreement for her Brexit plan there in 2018.

In an interview with ITV's Julie Etchingham, Mr Corbyn was asked: "Would you consider giving up Chequers if you were Prime Minister?"

He replied: "I would indeed. It can't be right. We're a country with 150 billionaires, and we've still got people sleeping on the streets."

Chequers is the country retreat for the Prime Minister
PA Archive/PA Images

During the interview, Mr Corbyn, an MP since 1983, also appeared to admit he did not know when the Queen's message is aired on Christmas Day.

Asked whether he sat down to watch the Queen's annual message, he said: "It's on in the morning, usually we have it on."

Ms Etchingham corrected him, saying: "It's not on in the morning. It's at three o'clock in the afternoon."

Mr Corbyn replied by saying he and his family "don't watch television very much on Christmas Day", choosing to visit homeless shelters instead.

Pressed on whether he usually watches the monarch's public addresses, the 70-year-old said: "There is lots to do. I enjoy the presence of my family and friends around Christmas. Obviously, like everybody else does.

"And, I also visit the homeless shelter, either on Christmas Day, or the day before, to talk to, and listen to people's lives, about how they could be made better with a government that cared for them."

He also apologised again for anti-Semitism in the Labour party, saying: "Anti-Semitism is a vile evil in our society. I am not a racist, in any form - I've spent my life opposing racism.

"And, I think the treatment of Jewish people that suffer from anti-Semitism is appalling.

"And where there's been delays by my party in instituting a process, of course, I apologise to those that suffered as a result of it."

Mr Corbyn - who has campaigned for decades for a solution for the Palestinian people - said Israel had a right to exist.

The full programme - The Leader Interviews: Jeremy Corbyn - Tonight - will air on ITV at 7.30pm on Thursday.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in