Starmer will promise to “deliver on the opportunities” of Brexit in a speech to the Centre for European Reform think tank, marking a significant shift in rhetoric. A Labour Party statement outlining the speech predicts that he will also state that a Labour administration will not reinstate freedom of movement or bring the UK back into the EU’s single market or customs union.
UK Struggles to Find Better Answers on Brexit Anniversary
In response to Labour leaders like London Mayor Sadiq Khan who support the UK’s re-entry into the single market, Starmer will say, “You cannot move forward or grow the country or deliver change or win back the trust of those who have lost faith in politics if you’re constantly focused on the arguments of the past.”
Since many of its supporters voted to leave the EU in the 2016 referendum, the UK’s main opposition party has struggled to address Britain’s EU exit. Some party members held Starmer personally accountable for alienating the party’s base voters in the 2019 general election by advocating for a second referendum while serving as the Brexit spokesman.
The shift in strategy on Monday comes as Labour prepares for the upcoming general election, which is predicted to occur by at least January 2025. To win outright, the party must retake large portions of its former strongholds in northern England, seats that went to Johnson’s Tories in 2019 as a result of his “Get Brexit Done” campaign slogan.
Make Brexit Happen
Make Brexit Work will be the new slogan for Labour, and Starmer will criticize Johnson’s administration for failing to take advantage of its new freedoms after the divorce is finalized.
He will say, “The government has repeatedly lost Brexit opportunities.” It is incomprehensible that the VAT on energy bills hasn’t been reduced despite the cost of living crisis.
During the Brexit campaign, Johnson argued that the UK couldn’t eliminate the 5% sales tax on fuel bills while still being a member of the EU. He has opposed reducing the levy, calling it a “blunt instrument” that would lower bills for people who don’t need the support, despite the fact that skyrocketing fuel prices are straining household budgets across the nation.
In order to keep Northern Ireland in the EU single market while establishing a customs border with the rest of the UK, Starmer said that Labour’s first move would be to fix the Northern Ireland Protocol.
According to Starmer, Labour will be “the honest broker our countries need” and will collaborate with industry to improve the program that permits low-risk goods to enter Northern Ireland without needless checks.
