Keir Starmer has again thrown Labor into the Brexit debate by ruling out any return to the single market or the customs union, but arguing he could remove trade and travel barriers as prime minister because the EU would trust him.
In a speech on Monday evening that ended Labor’s usual silence on the issue since the referendum, Starmer pledged to address what he called a “fatberg of bureaucracy and bureaucracy” caused by Johnson’s agreement on Brexit.
Starmer presented himself as an “honest agent” able to reach better commitments in key areas of disagreement with the EU, such as the Northern Ireland protocol.
While both sides wanted to reduce trade barriers between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK, the government’s approach had “eroded” confidence in the UK, Starmer told the Center for European Reform think tank. .
“Workers will change that,” he argued. “We will be the honest runner our countries need. We will make the protocol work and turn it into the springboard to get a better deal for the British people.”
But the Labor leader argued that the big questions about EU membership, especially the single market, the customs union and the free movement of people, were “arguments of the past” and could not be re-examined.
While Shadow Foreign Secretary David Lammy made similar points in a Brexit speech last month, Starmer has faced criticism from some Labor for appearing suspicious of attacking Johnson on the issue, in part because of his own political journey on the issue.
After previously pushing for a second referendum, while campaigning for Labor leadership in 2020, Starmer called for the return of free movement and then reversed his position a year later.
Monday’s speech provoked criticism from the SNP and the Greens, but pro-EU Labor activists praised Starmer’s approach, saying the only option was to try to make the current deal work better.
The Labor leader laid out a number of proposals to “make Brexit work”, especially in Northern Ireland, including a new veterinary agreement for trade in agri-food products and a system for low-risk goods to enter Northern Ireland without controls.
Other proposals include a scheme for the mutual recognition of professional qualifications with the EU and a new security and police agreement with Brussels.
The plan also offers “flexible job mobility agreements” for people making short-term business trips between the UK and the EU, and for musicians and artists embarking on tours.
The current deal had “created a huge fatberg of bureaucracy and bureaucracy, which is hampering the flow of British business,” Starmer said. “We will break down this barrier, unclog the arteries of our economy and allow trade to flourish again.”
However, he stressed that any debate on rejoining the EU would be “looking back over our shoulder” and jeopardizing public faith in politics, adding: “So make it very clear to me “With Labor, Britain will not return to the EU. We will not enter the single market. We will not join a customs union.”
Ben Bradshaw, an Exeter MP and former minister who is a pro-EU leading voice in the Labor party, said Starmer’s approach was “absolutely right”.
He said: “There is no possibility that we will rejoin the EU, the single market or the customs union soon, especially because [Boris] Johnson has so completely destroyed trust with our European neighbors that any such move would be in much worse condition than we had before we left.
“However, there are many things we can do to reduce the enormous damage that is being done to our economy and our relationship with our allies, fixing the many problems with the failure of Johnson’s Brexit agreement.” .
Hilary Benn, who previously chaired the Brexit Commons committee and was another staunch supporter of a second referendum, told BBC Radio 4’s The World at One that even rejoining the single market would require a public vote.
“And I told you, from my point of view, there’s no appetite for that,” he said.
Sarah Dney, Lib Dems’ trade spokeswoman, said the Johnson deal, which Labor voted on, had caused significant damage and needed “a pragmatic approach that works for the UK”.
Instead, the SNP said Starmer “has strengthened the defense of independence by adopting the harsh Brexit of the Conservatives,” while the Greens said it was “very perverse for Keir Starmer to stick his head in the sand and insist that he will let Brexit work. ” .