Keir Starmer warns May ‘crunch time is coming’ as he says Labour will join Tory rebels on customs union
2 min read
Keir Starmer has warned Theresa May it is “crunch time” for her customs union plans as Labour pledges to join forces with Tory rebels in a bid to defeat the Government.
The shadow Brexit secretary said Labour had reached a “unanimous” decision last week to back Britain joining a customs union with the EU after Brexit.
This puts his party in line with Conservative rebels who have threatened to vote against the Government if its position does not change.
Mrs May has repeatedly said the UK will not be part of such an arrangement after Brexit as it must be free to strike its own trade deals.
But leading pro-EU Tory Anna Soubry has tabled a cross-party amendment calling on the Government to negotiate “a” customs union with the bloc, sparking fears of a Commons humiliation for the Prime Minister.
Speaking on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show this morning, Mr Starmer said: “We reached a unanimous decision on Monday as to our position on a customs union…
“To put it bluntly, crunch time is coming for the Prime Minister.”
Asked if his party would back Ms Soubry’s amendment he said a final decision had not yet been made, but added that the proposals were very close to Labour’s position.
In a warning to the Prime Minister, he added: “The majority in Parliament does not back her approach to a customs union and the majority in Parliament needs to be heard and it will be heard sooner rather than later."
Mr Starmer denied, however, that the move was simply a Labour plot to unseat Mrs May and trigger a general election.
“I think every time I have been on your programme I have championed the benefits of the customs union,” he said.
“I have never suggested otherwise, so to suggest that this is simply because of those amendments…
“It was in our manifesto, it was in our position last summer. We have now developed that unanimously. Obviously these amendments are coming up but I think the position you have put to me is not actually accurate.”
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