Corbyn piles pressure on May over #Brexit as Labour pledges #CustomsUnion

Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn announced on Monday (26 February) Labour's support for staying in a customs union with the EU after Brexit, a move that could lead to a parliamentary defeat for Prime Minister Theresa May, writes Andrew MacAskill.

May has ruled out any customs union with the EU after Brexit because it would prevent Britain from striking new trade deals with fast-growing economies including as China and India.

Labour’s Brexit policy chief Keir Starmer said on Sunday (25 February) that his party has agreed that if it wins power it would negotiate to remain permanently in a new customs union with the bloc.

Corbyn explicitly backing a customs union sets the stage for Labour MPs to join Conservative rebels in supporting the necessary amendments to trade legislation.

The vote could be tight. May holds a working majority of 13 seats and, while British media said between 10 and 15 of her party might rebel, a few pro-Brexit Labour MPs are expected to vote with the government.

While defeat would represent a major challenge to May’s ability to deliver on her Brexit strategy, some of the Conservative rebels have already played down talk of collapsing the government, and any changes could be reversed later in the legislative process.

“There will be some who will tell you that Brexit is a disaster for this country and some who will tell you that Brexit will create a land of milk and honey. The truth is more down to earth and it’s in our hands: Brexit is what we make of it together,” Corbyn will say, according to excerpts of the speech.

“Labour would negotiate a new and strong relationship with the single market that includes full tariff-free access and a floor under existing rights, standards and protections.”

Sterling rose on Monday, partly on hopes that Corbyn's shift indicates Britain will stay close to the EU after Brexit. Sterling rallied 0.6 percent to $1.4047 GBP= and 0.3% to 87.79 pence per euro EURGBP.

While Britain’s politicians discuss what sort of Brexit they want, EU leaders have warned that the clock is ticking in negotiations and that they need more than vague “illusions” from Britain in order to strike a proper deal by October.

By staying within a customs union, Britain would avoid tariff barriers for its exports to the bloc as well as the risk of a return to a ‘hard border’ between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, a prospect that alarms many in Dublin and Belfast.

But that, supporters of leaving the EU argue, would prevent other trade deals around the world, which they see as one of Britain’s big potential gains from Brexit.

Labour is narrowly ahead in opinion polls but, like the Conservatives, remains deeply divided on its Brexit strategy and has no appetite for a second referendum on EU membership.

“We respect the result of the (2016) referendum,” Corbyn will say.

“Our priority is to get the best deal for people’s jobs, living standards and the economy. We reject any race to the bottom in workers’ rights, environmental safeguards, consumer protections, or food safety standards.”

The party’s divisions were exposed over the weekend when more than 80 senior members called on Corbyn to commit to remaining in the EU’s single market.

Labour’s Brexit policy chief Starmer warned that “crunch time is coming” for May and Labour would probably support the amendments to the trade bill.

Trade Secretary Liam Fox said the government would delay the key vote on the bill partly because it wanted more time to convince its own MPs to vote with the government.

Share this article: