I’ll negotiate a better Brexit deal... then vote Remain, says Starmer
SHADOW Brexit Secretary Sir Keir Starmer outlined during a visit to Wales how he hopes to negotiate a “better” Brexit deal than Boris Johnson – and then vote Remain in a referendum.
Labour has been criticised for sitting on the fence over Brexit, but is going into the election on a Brexit policy passed at the party’s annual conference in September.
Asked by the Western Mail during a campaign visit to Barry whether his party was now united on the issue, Sir Keir said: “I do – and I think not only is the party united, but we’ve got a very clear and simple proposition. That is that an incoming Labour government would negotiate the best deal available, and that would involve a customs union and single market alignment – and then put it to a referendum up against Remain within six months.
“The principle behind that is to recognise that the politicians in Parliament got stuck for three and a half years. I think everyone’s frustrated at that, so we’re proposing to take it away from politicians, put it to the public and let them decide whether they want to leave with the deal or remain. And we’ll do that within six months.”
Asked whether wanting a customs union indicated that Labour was prepared to ditch the idea of securing independent trade deals with non-EU countries – a requirement of staying in the EU customs union – Sir Keir said: “We all want trade deals. I’ve taken the view that we’re more likely to get better trade deals if we do them alongside the EU than if we do them on our own – and there’s no evidence to suggest I’m wrong about that. But the deal we’re proposing is one that I’ve discussed in some detail with the negotiating team in Brussels. I think it can be secured very quickly, it will then go to a referendum within six months and we can break the impasse and get on with all the other things I think people are really concerned about.”
Asked whether single market alignment would ental freedom of movement for EU citizens, Sir Keir said: “Freedom of movement would be part of the negotiations, and therefore that would be argued out across the table. But I’ve always accepted the proposition that our economy depends on the movement of people into this country from the EU, as do our public services. So I think there’s got to be a dose of realism about this.”
When it was put to Sir Keir that freedom of movement had been one of the problematic areas for many voters in 2016, with a lot of anti-immigration rhetoric coming from Nigel Farage and others at that time, Sir Keir said: “That’s absolutely right and the conundrum after the referendum was if you’re going to leave, what sort of basic deal do you want, what are your priorities? The priorities for us are the economy, jobs – and it’s very interesting because businesses and trade unions are saying pretty much the same thing about what they would like to see in a deal. And that’s a customs union and the single market. That deal then goes up against Remain, and people can decide whether they want to leave with the deal or go with Remain and we’ll resolve it within six months.”
Asked how realistic he thought it was that the EU would take kindly to negotiators coming from a Labour government who are saying: ‘we’re going to negotiate a deal with you, but we’re not necessarily going to recommend it in a referendum?’, Sir Keir said: “The first thing to say is we’ve built up a lot of trust with the negotiators already, because I’ve been talking to them for the best part of three years. We’ve also discussed the broad terms of any deal, and of course I was involved in the cross-party talks when Theresa May was the Prime Minister, when again we had various interchanges with the EU. So I don’t have any issue with that. As for the deal, there’s a joint interest with an incoming Labour government to get the best possible deal, obviously, but also for the EU, because if we are to leave, they would like us to stay economically close. That is in our interest and their interest, so I don’t think there’s anything uncomfortable or difficult about this.”
Nevertheless, Sir Keir made it clear that he believes the best option is to remain – and that is how he would vote in a referendum.