Hard Brexit is off the table.. we’ll block it

Labour’s Starmer fearful of deal He wants 2 years of ‘transition’

LABOUR’S Keir Starmer will today vow to block Theresa May’s plans for an extreme Brexit.

The Shadow Brexit Secretary reassured Labour rebels he will push for a Commons vote to prevent the PM walking away without a deal. He also gives strong backing for the UK to stay in the customs union. His comments came after 49 Labour MPS defied Jeremy Corbyn by voting to keep Britain in the single market and the customs union. Mr Starmer said Labour will work with other parties to demand a transition arrangement, extending talks beyond the March 2019 deadline and keeping us in the EU for at least two more years. He said: “We have to accept that the final deal will not be agreed by March 2019. “To avoid a cliff edge, we have to have transitional measures, pretty early, by later this year.” He claimed Mrs May and Brexit Secretary David Davis needed to accept the General Election result which meant their plans for an “extreme Brexit” with no transition agreement was now “off the table”. Mr Starmer’s push for an extension this autumn would be a headache for Mrs May, as many hardline Tory Brexiteers oppose a transition agreement. On Thursday Mr Corbyn sacked three frontbenchers after they defied the whip to vote to stay in the single market and the customs union. In a olive branch to the rebels, Mr Starmer gave his strongest endorsement to date for the UK to stay in the customs union. He warned access to the single market would mean taxpayers shelling out a substantial sum but insisted this would be less than the £13billion we contribute. The Shadow Brexit Secretary also blasted International Trade Secretary Liam Fox for saying we could strike better trade agreements once we leave the EU. And he was withering about Mrs May’s negotiating stance. “To date she has got the tone and approach completely wrong,” he said. “She has come across as belligerent and hostile.” By contrast, he noted Chancellor Philip Hammond was speaking the same language as Labour on transitional measures, managed migration and putting jobs and prosperity first.

We have to accept that there will be no EU deal by March 2019 KEIR STARMER ON EXTENDING EU DEADLINE

SOFTER OPTION Starmer has other ideas on EU talks