Keir Starmer finally breaks silence on Brexit to insist he DOESN’T want to take UK back into EU – but launches ‘five-point plan’ to ‘end the divisions it caused once and for all’
- Keir Starmer pledges not to reverse the EU referendum but to ‘make Brexit work’
- He will say Labour won’t seek to rejoin single market or customs union in speech
- Labour leader will also attack PM’s ‘poor deal’ and set out five-point plan to fix it
Sir Keir Starmer will today finally set out his stance on Brexit as the Labour leader makes a pledge not to reverse the EU referendum result from six years ago.
In a speech this evening, Sir Keir will promise – if Labour wins power at the next general election – that he would not seek to return to EU free movement rules or rejoin the bloc’s single market or customs union.
Despite having been a key proponent of a second EU referendum when he was Labour’s shadow Brexit secretary, Sir Keir will now promise not to go back on the wishes of 17.4 million Leave voters.
‘There are some who say “We don’t need to make Brexit work. We need to reverse it.” I couldn’t disagree more,’ he will say.
Instead, Sir Keir will promise to ‘make Brexit work’ with a five-point plan – in an echo of Boris Johnson’s ‘get Brexit done’ slogan before the 2019 general election.
He will pledge to ‘sort out the poor deal’ signed with the EU by the Prime Minister – which he will claim has created a ‘hulking fatberg of red tape’ – and to ‘end the Brexit divisions once and for all’.
The Labour leader will also lash out at the PM’s failure to capitalise on ‘Brexit opportunities’ and promise a ‘better scheme’ to solve the Government’s ongoing row with Brussels over trade arrangements for Northern Ireland.
Sir Keir Starmer will promise – if Labour wins power at the next general election – he would not seek to return to EU free movement rules or rejoin the bloc’s single market or customs union
The Labour leader will pledge to ‘sort out the poor deal’ signed with the EU by Boris Johnson – which he will claim has created a ‘hulking fatberg of red tape’
Sir Keir’s speech comes as the Labour leader increases his efforts to win back ‘Red Wall’ voters who switched to the Tories at the last general election.
The Labour leader has recently been buoyed by the party’s victory in last month’s Wakefield by-election.
His comments will also be aimed at those within his party who have recently urged Sir Keir to promise closer ties with the EU under a Labour government – including London mayor Sadiq Khan who recently said Britain should push to rejoin the single market.
Sir Keir is viewed as having been a central figure in his predecessor Jeremy Corbyn’s decision to back a second EU referendum ahead of the 2019 general election.
He won the contest to replace Mr Corbyn as Labour leader with a campaign that included a promise to ‘defend free movement’.
But Sir Keir has since largely stayed quiet on what his Brexit policy would be should he become PM after the next election.
In his speech at the Centre for European Reform tonight, Sir Keir will now push back against the pro-Remain voices in his party as he will claim Labour ‘cannot afford to look back’.
‘You cannot move forward or grow the country or deliver change or win back the trust of those who have lost faith in politics if you’re constantly focused on the arguments of the past,’ he will say.
‘We cannot afford to look back over our shoulder. Because all the time we are doing that we are missing what is ahead of us.
‘So let me be very clear: with Labour, Britain will not go back into the EU. We will not be joining the single market. We will not be joining a customs union.
‘The reason I say this is simple. Nothing about revisiting those rows will help stimulate growth or bring down food prices or help British business thrive in the modern world.
‘It would simply be a recipe for more division, it would distract us from taking on the challenges facing people, and it would ensure Britain remained stuck for another decade.’
Sir Keir pledged to ‘defend free movement as we leave the EU’ when he was campaigning to be Labour leader in 2020
In his pledge to ‘make Brexit work’, Sir Keir will promise to end the row with the EU over the Northern Ireland Protocol to ‘eliminate most border checks’ between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
He will also promise to strike a new veterinary agreement with the EU to ease the export of agri-products over the Irish Sea, as well as secure ‘mutual recognition of professional qualifications’ between the EU and UK.
In addition, Sir Keir’s five-point plan includes a proposal for a new security pact with Brussels to allow the UK and EU to ‘share data, intelligence, and best practice’ in tackling terrorism, organised crime and people trafficking.
The Labour leader will also launch an attack on what he will claim is Mr Johnson’s failure to use Brexit to ease the cost-of-living crisis hammering struggling Britons.
‘The Government have missed Brexit opportunities time and time again,’ Sir Keir will add.
‘It beggars belief that during a cost-of-living crisis that they still haven’t cut VAT on energy bills.
‘Labour will be sharper than this. We will use our flexibility outside of the EU to ensure British regulation is adapted to suit British needs.’
A leading Brexiteer said Sir Keir seemed to be ‘reluctanctly accepting’ elements of the UK’s departure from the EU but questioned whether the Labour leader could be ‘trusted’.
They also wondered if Sir Keir would still be in charge of Labour policy at the next election, as he will soon face a decision by Durham Police over his Beergate row.
John Longworth, the former director-general of the British Chambers of Commerce who now works for the Centre for Brexit Policy, said: ‘Starmer is reluctantly accepting aspects of Brexit but seeking accord with EU rather than pursuing the benefits of Brexit.
‘Can he be trusted? A leopard doesn’t change his spots. And he may not even be leader – Vote Labour get rejoin.’
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