Labour gets even softer on EU trade

Britain could stay in a customs union with the EU after leaving the bloc if Labour won power, the party said on Monday.

Britain could stay in a customs union with the EU after leaving the bloc if Labour won power, the party said on Monday, putting pressure on Prime Minister Theresa May’s divided government over Brexit.

Labour’s Brexit spokesman, Keir Starmer, said the party was ready to be “the grown-ups in the room” and take charge of negotiations to leave the EU, cautioning against taking anything off the table when considering Britain’s future ties with the EU.

After months of sticking to a position little different from the Conservative Party’s pursuit of a clean break with the EU, Labour changed tack in August by suggesting that, if in power, it would press for remaining in the EU’s single market for a transition period to smooth Britain’s departure in March 2019.

Starmer’s words took that position further.

“If we were in government … we would negotiate a final deal … that retained the benefits of the customs union and the single market,” Starmer said. “Subject, of course to negotiations, remaining in a form of customs union with the EU is a possible end destination for Labour.”

But while challenging May’s vision for Brexit, the move could also deepen divisions in Labour, putting those who want the close economic ties of a customs union at odds with those who say the referendum vote means complete withdrawal.

Steve Baker, a Conservative minister working on Brexit, criticised Labour for having “no plan for Brexit, no interest in controlling our borders and no desire to make the most of the opportunities it will bring”.

Divisions over what Brexit will look like have split both parties and the country. While Scotland and Northern Ireland voted to remain, England and Wales voted to leave.

BAKER CRITICISED LABOUR FOR HAVING … NO DESIRE TO MAKE THE MOST OF THE OPPORTUNITIES IT WILL BRING

Labour and the Conservatives have both struggled to keep their parties together on Brexit strategy. But by aiming for what some call a “softer departure”, the leftist party hopes to offer a catch-all option to voters across the divide.

While Labour says it offers flexibility, May’s government counters that staying in the customs union, which imposes tariffs on trade with external countries, while allowing tariff-free movement of goods, would betray the Brexit vote and stop Britain from agreeing trade deals with other countries.