Opposition leader to say a Labour government would not rejoin single market or customs union, nor reintroduce free movement
Good morning. In his speech to the Labour party conference last year Keir Starmer summed up his party’s new Brexit policy by saying he wanted to “Make Brexit work”. It was a clever slogan because it simultaneously signalled Labour’s acceptance of Brexit (in the hope of confounding Tory claims that he wanted to reverse it), while simultaneously branding it a failing policy (a propositon that has the support of almost all remainers, and an increasing number of leavers too). As with many Labour initiatives, though, there was little follow-up, and over the next few months we heard very little about the “Make Brexit work” approach.
Tonight that will change when Starmer gives a speech fleshing out more details of this policy. In it, Starmer will confirm that a Labour government would not rejoin the single market or the customs union, or reintroduce free movement for EU citizens. According to a preview of his remarks in the Financial Times, he will say that to do so would just be “a recipe for more division”. He will say:
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.