Keir Starmer faced fresh pressure over Europe yesterday as the general secretary of the TUC urged the prime minister to build the “closest possible” relationship with the EU up to and including the customs union.
Paul Nowak said the British public recognised the need for an improved trading arrangement and that stronger links were more important than ever because Donald Trump had shown that the US was “not the predictable ally” the UK has always relied on.
“The government needs to do whatever it can to build the closest possible positive working relationship with Europe economically and politically as well… up to and including the customs union,” he told the Guardian.
He said voters understood the “botched” Brexit deal had driven up the cost of living. “They can see the impact of that bad Brexit deal on things like prices in supermarkets.”
His comments come a week after Wes Streeting, the health secretary, told The Observer that Britain had taken a “massive economic hit” from Brexit and made clear that he believed a customs union should be on the table. “We’ve got a level of indebtedness that we need to take very seriously. The best way for us to get more growth into our economy is a deeper trading relationship with the EU.”
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He said the only “red line” should be around the free movement of people, which is a condition of the single market but not a customs union, which involves tariff-free trade.
Those advocating closer links with the EU have gathered around the issue of joining a customs union. Earlier this month 13 Labour MPs backed a Liberal Democrat bill requiring the government to begin negotiations on joining a bespoke customs union with the EU. David Lammy, the deputy prime minister, has also suggested the UK would benefit from joining a customs union.
Starmer has embarked on a “reset” of relations with the EU but has ruled out joining a customs union or the single market, describing both as “red lines” for his government that would undo the trade deals struck with the US and India. It was part of Labour’s manifesto not to join the existing EU customs union.
Streeting said the “reset” being negotiated by the prime minister – a new trade and cooperation deal with the EU – was a “good start”. However, he said: “The reason why leaving the EU hit us so hard as a country is because of the enormous economic benefits that came with being in the single market and the customs union. This is a country and a government that wants a closer trading relationship with Europe.”
Photograph by Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty Images