Labour’s deputy under fire after admitting party backs soft Brexit
LABOUR deputy leader Tom Watson faced anger yesterday after admitting his party wanted to keep Britain in the EU’s single market.
The frontbencher was accused of laying bare a secret Labour plan to keep Britain permanently tied to Brussels.
Mr Watson spoke out while being quizzed about Labour’s recent Brexit policy shift on BBC Two’s Newsnight show.
Last week Labour Shadow EU Exit Secretary Sir Keir Starmer ditched the party’s manifesto pledge to leave the single market at the same time as quitting the EU.
Instead he said Labour wanted Britain to remain tied up to single market rules including free movement for EU migrants for a transition period of up to four years after Brexit.
But yesterday Mr Watson made clear the transitional arrangements could be extended indefinitely.
Asked if Labour was now the party of soft Brexit, Mr Watson told Newsnight: “Yes, you have seen Keir Starmer’s statement, we think that being part of the customs union and the single market is important in those transitional times because that is the way you protect jobs and the economy, and it might be a permanent outcome of the negotiations, but we have got to see how those negotiations go.”
Tory MP Nigel Evans said yesterday: “This lays bare what Labour’s plan really is. They want to keep us in the EU by the backdoor forever.
“It is against the wishes of the vast majority of the electorate, including many of the voters in the north who backed Labour at the last election. Labour are prepared to spend billions of pounds of taxpayers’ money accessing a market. I can’t think of anything more ludicrous.
“I want to see that money spent on public services across the UK.”
Mr Watson also insisted there was no plot to oust him from the deputy leader’s position after Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale quit amid speculation her departure was due to clashes with Jeremy Corbyn.
Pressed on whether people were trying to get rid of him Mr Watson said: “Well, there is always someone trying to get rid of you in politics. But, no, I don’t actually see any move to remove me from my position.
“In fact what I see after the general election is the party coming together.
“A recognition, you know, under Jeremy’s leadership, we did far better than anyone anticipated. Probably more than Jeremy himself.”
Mr Watson said he believed Ms Dugdale had stood down for personal reasons.
“I’ve got to take what Kezia said at face value. She said it is a quality of life issue.
“It was the right time to go, right for her, right for the Scottish Labour Party. I don’t think there is a subtext to it.
“That’s why she didn’t do a press conference, or go out in a blaze of glory. Exit strategies are the hardest thing in politics.”