Labour descends into Brexit chaos
LABOUR’S chaotic policy on Brexit descended into farce last night after a pledge to end free movement unravelled just hours after it was announced.
Yesterday morning Labour’s Brexit spokesman Sir Keir Starmer vowed free movement of EU migrants ‘will have to end’ after Britain leaves the EU, promising ‘managed migration’.
But by lunchtime the pledge collapsed when he said EU migrants would still be able to come as long as they had a job, adding: ‘There has to be movement of people to come and work in this country.’
The shambles was compounded by his deputy Paul Blomfield, who suggested Labour could keep Britain in the EU if Brussels offered major concessions on membership. Asked if Britain was ‘definitely leaving’, Mr Blomfield said if the EU made ‘significant reforms’ it would be a ‘whole new ball game’. He also said Labour could agree to a second referendum on EU membership in the future. Ministers seized on the chaos to warn Labour’s Brexit plan was ‘incoherent’ and would ‘damage this country’s future’.
Theresa May branded Labour’s position ‘nonsensical’, saying these were its seventh set of proposals since the referendum. Brexit Secretary David Davis added: ‘Corbyn’s floundering team disagree over ending free movement, would roll over in tough negotiations with Europe – and now they’re flip flopping on whether they would go ahead with Brexit or not.’
OPPOSITION Brexit spokesman Sir Keir Starmer has been spoken of as his party’s great white hope to lead a revival when the Corbyn nightmare ends. If so, heaven help Labour!
Outlining his party’s stance on EU withdrawal yesterday, the former Director of Public Prosecutions proved himself wholly out of his intellectual depth – incoherent, self-contradictory, achingly dull and peddling a blatantly fraudulent prospectus.
In one breath, he pledged to respect the public’s vote for Brexit and to end the free movement of people.
Yet in the next, he refused to rule out staying in the single market and the customs union – though this would keep us subject to European judges and stop us striking trade deals in the wider world. What’s more, he would also allow European workers to retain free access to Britain!
In other words, Labour is in favour of both leaving the EU and effectively remaining in it. But this was barely the start of Sir Keir’s ineptitude. On Day One of a Labour government, he said, the party would unilaterally guarantee the rights of EU citizens in Britain, asking nothing in return to protect the million-plus British expats in Europe. Meanwhile, he would retain all EU laws and red tape.
And for good measure, he would give MPs the right to keep demanding renegotiations – giving our partners a powerful incentive to offer an unacceptable deal and possibly delaying withdrawal for years.
If this is the best the great white hope can offer, mightn’t Labour just as well stick with Mr Corbyn?