I won't share a stage with David Cameron in the EU referendum campaign, says Jeremy Corbyn

The frontrunner to win the Labour leadership has said he would not share a stage with David Cameron during the EU referendum campaign.

Jeremy Corbyn (Getty)

The frontrunner to win the Labour leadership has said he would not share a stage with David Cameron during the EU referendum campaign.

Jeremy Corbyn, who polls show with a large lead over his rivals, has said he is not content with the current state of the EU but would not campaign to leave.

But asked by the Press Association news agency whether he would share a platform with David Cameron as part of the campaign to stay in, Mr Corbyn simply replied: “No.”

At the start of his campaign Mr Corbyn was coy on whether he would support EU membership as leader, but he has now said he would work with allies across the continent to “create a better Europe”.

His refusal to work with the prime minister comes after a report in the Sunday Times newspaper that Mr Cameron would orchestrate a “choreographed” row with the French government over the EU.

The UK will have a referendum on the European Union by 2017 but the Prime Minister has previously hinted that it could be held earlier.

Some figures on the political left have urged Labour to consider supporting withdrawal from the European Union.

Labour’s decision to present a united front with the Conservatives during the Scottish independence referendum campaign has been blamed by some observers for the party’s complete collapse in Scotland.

The party’s experience north of the border could be informing Mr Corbyn’s thinking with regards to the upcoming plebiscite.

Voting in the Labour leadership election began this week. The results will be announced at a special party conference in September.

The other candidates are Yvette Cooper, Liz Kendall, and Andy Burnham.

In separate question and answer sessions the other candidates gave negative but slightly less emphatic responses. Ms Cooper said it was not right to do "deals and pacts", Ms Kendall said she had "no desire" to share a stage with Mr Cameron, and Mr Burnham said he "wouldn't be planning to".