EXCL Keir Starmer warns Labour MPs: Voting for Theresa May's Brexit deal is against national interest
3 min read
Labour MPs who back the Brexit deal clinched by Theresa May will be voting against "the national interest", Keir Starmer has declared.
The Shadow Brexit Secretary said that the agreement the Prime Minister has secured with Brussels is “a bad deal” and does not warrant their support.
Mrs May faces a ommons showdown in December when MPs get a chance to vote on her blueprint.
Labour has vowed to vote against the deal - which is all-but certain to be defeated after dozens of Tory MPs went public to confirm they will not support it either.
In an interview with the House Magazine, Mr Starmer sent a bold message to any wavering Labour MPs on both sides of the Brexit debate who might be tempted to back the deal.
“I think the most important thing is that this is not a good deal. This is a bad deal,” he said. “And it’s not in the national interest to vote for a bad deal.
“Even the Prime Minister isn’t really selling it as a good deal. She’s simply selling it as better than no deal - so she’s not even setting a high bar for herself. There is no national interest in voting for a bad deal.”
Most Labour MPs have made clear they will vote against the agreement - but some anti-EU figures might be mulling whether to back it to ensure Brexit is delivered.
Meanwhile, pro-EU figures on the Labour benches might be tempted to back it to avoid the possibility of a no-deal Brexit - despite assurances from Mr Starmer that quitting on World Trade Organisation terms is not possible.
The Brexit deal contains two parts: A withdrawal agreement focused on the exit terms from the bloc and a political declaration laying out a roadmap for the future relationship with the EU.
Labour has said the proposals in the withdrawal agreement for a so-called ‘backstop’ to protect the Northern Ireland border would create a “de-facto border in the Irish Sea” - which it could not support.
Mr Starmer also said the future declaration was a “long way from anything we could back” as Labour has called for the UK to remain in a permanent customs union with the EU, which the Government has ruled out.
'CATALYST'
Elsewhere, the Shadow Brexit Secretary said it was “very difficult” to think of a positive of leaving the EU, and he distanced himself from claims by Jeremy Corbyn that Brexit could serve as a “catalyst” to transform the economy.
"I think the most important thing is to safeguard the economy and that is why we proposed a close economic relationship with the EU," he said.
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