UK must leave the single market, says McDonnell

LABOUR will support Britain’s full withdrawal from the single market, John McDonnell said yesterday.

The shadow chancellor said that to retain membership of the single market would be akin to not respecting the result of the referendum.

It is a tougher line than that put forward by Labour in the past – and could make it harder for Remainers to use the election result as an excuse to water down Brexit. Former chancellor George Osborne had suggested the majority of MPs in the new Parliament were in favour of staying in the single market.

But Mr McDonnell told ITV: ‘Ours is a jobs-first Brexit, everything we can do to protect our economy. [But] I think people will interpret membership of the single market as not respecting the referendum.’