Tories warn Prime Minister has “never got over losing the Brexit referendum”.
Sir Keir Starmer has been warned against joining a customs union with the EU (Image: PA)
Sir Keir Starmer was warned against joining a customs union with the EU, after Brussels said it was open to the move. A senior EU official said the bloc is “ready to engage” if the UK wants to look into the trading arrangement. But Brexiteers accused Labour of trying to “take us into the EU by the back door” and “reopen old wounds”.
Tory Shadow Foreign Secretary Dame Priti Patel said: “Keir Starmer and his Labour colleagues want to take us into the EU by the back door. They have never got over losing the Brexit referendum and will do all they can to water Brexit down. At the election, Labour promised not to rejoin the customs union. Yet senior Labour figures are now openly flirting with handing away our ability to direct our own trade policy and police our own customs borders as we see fit. We could be set for yet another Labour U-turn – and another broken promise.”
Dame Priti said: “Labour are flailing around in search of something or someone to blame for the results of their disastrous leadership, and are trying to reopen old wounds by taking us back to 2016. Only the Conservatives are focused on the real challenges facing our country, and on delivering a stronger economy, stronger borders and a stronger country.”
Reform UK warned that the Government is “stuffed full of Remainers who can’t be trusted to negotiate with the EU”.
A spokesman added: “Any attempt to rejoin the customs union would be an outright betrayal of the 17.4 million British people who voted for Brexit.”
The backlash comes after Valdis Dombrovskis, the European Commissioner for the Economy and Productivity, made his comments on a custom union following the latest trade talks earlier this week.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves hosted Mr Dombrovskis and European Commissioner for Trade Maroš Šefčovič, alongside Cabinet ministers Peter Kyle and Nick Thomas Symonds, in 11 Downing Street on Monday.
Asked after the meeting if the bloc would welcome discussions on Britain rejoining the customs union, Mr Dombrovskis told the BBC: “I cannot jump to conclusions, but I can say that we are ready to engage with an open mind and seek those areas of cooperation.”
He added that the EU was also “open to discuss different areas as regards a single market”.
Sir Keir – who campaigned for Remain and a second referendum – previously set out his Brexit “red lines” not to return to the single market, customs union or freedom of movement.
He reiterated last week that he would not seek to rejoin the customs union, which he admitted would mean having to “unpick” post-Brexit trade deals with countries such as the US and India.
But he said that aligning with the single market was “the place to look” in future negotiations.
And the Prime Minister called for Britain to aim to “go further” at each UK-EU summit ahead of the second one, which is due to take place later this year.
But he is facing pressure from some Labour MPs to back a customs union, which removes tariffs between members and sets up a common external tariff for non-members, while several ministers have also indicated their support.
Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy in December highlighted how membership of the customs union with the bloc had boosted growth in Turkey.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting, a leadership rival to Sir Keir, also suggested Britain should join a customs union with the EU.
But Downing Street yesterday [TUES] repeated Sir Keir’s “red lines” when asked about a customs union with the EU.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “We will not be rejoining the customs union, single market or returning to freedom of movement. Those are our red lines, as per the government’s manifesto.
“We do want a closer economic partnership with the EU, but rejoining the customs union would unpick important trade agreements we’ve reached, including our deals with the US and India.”
The Lib Dems, who are demanding a bespoke customs union with the bloc, seized on Mr Dombrovskis’ comments.
The party’s Treasury spokesperson, Daisy Cooper, said: “This is a significant moment that the Government simply cannot afford to ignore.”
It comes as the Daily Express is pushing the Government to reap the rewards of the UK’s exit from the EU with our new “Give Us a Proper Brexit” campaign.
The new crusade, which comes ahead of the 10th anniversary of the 2016 referendum, has been backed by Brexiteer heavyweights including Reform UK leader Nigel Farage and former Tory prime minister Boris Johnson.
The campaign is calling for Britain to leave the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), slash red tape for businesses and enforce a 12-mile exclusion zone around the UK for British fishing vessels only.
