Wasn't it true that Corbyn jibbed some rallies he was supposed to speak against Brexit in?
Also for me personally (And someone that was enthused and really wanted Corbyn to do well and get Labour into power) he always came across to me as being massively against the EU. In fact, I watched several recorded conversations and presentations where his dislike of them was thoroughly explored.
I think he wanted us out under a 'Lexit' idea (Which always seemed to me to be a bit far-fetched and unworkable.) His presentations also seemed to portray an EU that seemed very at odds with the facts - for instance - he seemed to think they were very much for deregulation and the Capital state - but it seems to me that the Tories (for instance) want far, far more deregulation than the EU allowed..?
Exactly my understanding on all aspects.
There had traditionally been leftist arguments against the EU - it was, after all, set up with the aid of the CIA as an exclusive trading bloc.
There have always been aspects of the EU that have been pro-corporate capitalist, and economically right-wing.
In the years leading up to the 2016 Referendum, the ECB had (IMHO) become far too influential. The ECB is packed with ex-Goldman Sachs malevolents, too
. The wake of the GFC, with the imposition of austerity on the most impacted nations (whose debt position had been exacerbated by the economic imbalance between north and south), the EU behaved in a way I found pretty shameful.
But overall, the EU has been a force for progressive good. I remember in the dark days of the 80's and early 90's Thatcherism, when the EU seemed to be the only body willing and able to take on The Thatcher, and I recall the EU forcing a kicking & screaming Tory government to accept things like better workers' rights and environmental protections.
There was a lot of talk at the time of the Referendum and after from 'the left', about EU regulations preventing aspects of the expected Corbyn-Labour manifesto being implemented - like nationalisation of essential utilities, or providing state aid to businesses where there is a strategic or employment benefit to be had. These were largely debunked by experts.