What is Labour’s stance on Brexit? It seems Keir Starmer has decided that the UK should remain outside of EU, and he told his story to…the Daily Express.
Let’s start with the intro paragraph (written by Keir himself…wow!) which reads, “Express readers deserve their politicians to be clear about where they stand. So let me spell it out simply. Britain’s future is outside the EU. Not in the single market, not in the customs union, not with a return to freedom of movement, writes Sir Keir Starmer.”
Music to their readers’ ears.
Maybe he could have written a measured piece in the Guardian, but does he already know those votes are in the bag, but are they?
He just needs to persuade a few more Brexiteers back to Labour to nail those swing seats.
Don’t kid yourself that this isn’t a calculated move to push Labour up in the polls, in placed like Crawley, (someone always used as a bell weather constituency.)
Make Brexit work
“If we are to make Brexit work, we need a government with the vision and the focus to deliver it,” he wrote.
“As Rishi Sunak heads off to meet with Emmanuel Macron on Thursday, there are no signs that he or his Government have any proper plan to deliver that better future for our country.
“Britain’s future is outside the EU. Not in the single market, not in the customs union, not with a return to freedom of movement. Those arguments are in the past, where they belong.”
He said that the current deal between London and Brussels is “paper-thin”, arguing that it had “stifled Britain’s potential and hugely weighted trade terms towards the EU.
Brexit Starmer
He ends with this rousing tub-thumping call to the Brexiters, cast adrift at the moment, writing: “There is a deal to be done that makes good on the British people’s desire to maintain Britain’s high food and animal welfare standards and prevent the burden of bureaucratic red tape. It could save our importers hundreds of millions of pounds a year.
“Whether it is working with European neighbours to tackle criminal gangs and stop dangerous boat crossings, or driving down the price of food for hard-pressed British families, there is huge potential for change.
“That’s why we should be optimistic.”
Reactions
I don’t know about you but I have a tear in my eye…
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Related: Watch: Nigel Farage ‘I was never dishonest’ on Brexit promises – Head in hands reactions