Following his pledge to “make Brexit work” and his assurance that he would not reassert Britain into important EU institutions, Sir Keir Starmer is facing a fresh Labour civil battle.
After making a significant speech last night on his Brexit strategy, the Labour leader sparked a fresh round of intra-party bickering.
Sir Keir declared he would not seek to reinstate EU free movement laws or rejoin the single market or customs union as he attempts to win back “Red Wall” voters who moved from Labour to the Conservatives at the most recent general election.
In addition, he pledged not to try to overturn the outcome of the 2016 EU vote if he were to become prime minister.
But Sir Keir’s speech, which broke his long silence on Labour’s Brexit position, was met with dismay by senior party figures who want their leader to push for closer ties with Brussels.
In addition, he pledged not to try to overturn the outcome of the 2016 EU vote if he were to become prime minister.
Senior party members, who want their leader to advocate for deeper links with Brussels, were shocked by Sir Keir’s speech, which broke his protracted quiet on Labour’s Brexit stance.
Even before the Labour leader had delivered his address last night, London mayor Sadiq Khan stepped up his demands for Britain to rejoin the EU’s single market
‘It’s possible to be outside the EU but be members of the single market,’ he told the BBC.
‘Keir’s job is to be leader of the Labour Party, my job is to be the Mayor of London.
‘That’ll mean on many occasions I agree with the Labour Party, on some occasions I may disagree.
‘Londoners elected me to be their champion, their advocate. I believe that our city and our country’s future is best served being members of the single market.’
The mayor’s comments were later followed up by senior Labour MP Stella Creasy, who called for Sir Keir to ‘make sure nothing is off the table’ after Brexit and as Britons struggle through the cost-of-living crisis.
The Walthamstow MP – who is chair of the Labour Movement for Europe
Responding to Sir Keir’s speech, – said: ‘This speech finally opens the door to a different future with Europe from the chaos Boris Johnson is creating.
‘We are only just beginning to understand the damage Brexit is doing to Britain so we urge Keir to make sure nothing is off the table as a solution in the fight to tackle to cost-of-living crisis and protect jobs, trade and security.
‘With breaking international law, a trade war and more red tape on offer from the Tories, Labour must show it understands our national interest lies in working with, not shouting at, our European counterparts.’
Shadow minister Emily Thornberry today told pro-Remain Labour MPs that Britain had to ‘make the most of what we have got’ outside the EU.
‘We won’t be able to go back on the same terms that we were members of the EU before,’ the shadow attorney general told BBC Breakfast.
‘If we wanted to rejoin, we would have to join the euro. We would have to join the Schengen agreement, which is all about immigration, and we would not have the rebate we had before.
‘We wouldn’t be able to go back on the same terms and, frankly, is the British public really going to want to argue for the next two years about whether or not we should go back into the EU, and on what terms, and then have another referendum? No, they are not.
‘So, let’s make the most of what we have got and let’s make sure that we look after our country and face up to the problems we have, and sort them out.’