JEREMY Corbyn’s proposal for Britain to form a new customs union with the EU post-Brexit has won a cautious welcome from big business, while Tory high command dismissed it as a “complete sell-out” of the national interest.
In a keynote speech in Coventry, which attempted to put clear red water between Labour and Theresa May’s Conservatives, the party leader said, if he was prime minister, he would seek to “negotiate a new comprehensive UK-EU customs union to ensure that there are no tariffs with Europe and to help avoid any need for a hard border in Northern Ireland”.
But Mr Corbyn placed a major condition on his plan: it would have to ensure Britain had “a say in future trade deals”.
He explained: “A new customs arrangement would depend on Britain being able to negotiate agreement of new trade deals in our national interest. Labour would not countenance a deal that left Britain as a passive recipient of rules decided elsewhere by others. That would mean ending up as mere rule-takers.”
He then made an appeal to MPs, including Tory rebels, to “put the people’s interests before ideological fantasies” and side with Labour in backing membership of a new customs union with the EU27; if this were to happen, then it is possible opposition parties could defeat the Government on an upcoming key piece of Brexit legislation.
While Tory high command mocked Mr Corbyn, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson tweeted: “Crumbling Corbyn betrays Leave voters – and all because he wants to win a Commons vote. Cynical and deluded” – captains of industry were far more welcoming.
Carolyn Fairbairn, head of the CBI, said: “The Labour leader’s commitment to a customs union will put jobs and living standards first by remaining in a close economic relationship with the EU.
“It will help grow trade without accepting freedom of movement or payments to the EU.
“Importantly, a customs union will go part of the way to providing a real-world solution to the Irish border question that is of such urgent concern to the people and firms of Northern Ireland.”
Stephen Martin for the Institute of Directors said Labour had “widened the debate” and manufacturers would be pleased that a customs union was staying on the table.
Yet he pointed out there were no easy solutions and it was hard to see how the EU would extend its trade agreements to a major non-member state without revising its treaties.
George Osborne, the former Tory chancellor, who now edits the London Evening Standard, noted how Mr Corbyn had seized the political initiative, tweeting: “Tories gifted Corbyn an open goal on the customs union and he just put the ball in.”
The trade unions also welcomed Mr Corbyn’s speech. Tim Roache of the GMB said: “By committing to a customs union, Labour is showing clear leadership that would safeguard our ports, transport firms and manufacturing sectors.”
However, Liam Fox, the International Trade Secretary, accused the Labour leader of a “cynical attempt to try and frustrate the Brexit process and play politics with our country’s future; all the while, betraying millions of Labour voters”.
In a speech today – the latest in a series of ministerial addresses on Brexit – the Scot will highlight what he sees as major disadvantages to being in a customs union with the EU.
“First of all, for goods, we would have to accept E U trade rules without any say in how they were made, handing Brussels considerable control of the UK’s external trade policy.
“Secondly, it would limit our ability to reach new trade agreements with the world’s fastest-growing economies.
“And thirdly, it would limit our ability to develop our trade and development policies that would offer new ways for the world’s poorest nations to trade their way out of poverty.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel