Starmer ready for closer alignment with the EU ‘in the national interest’

Sir Keir Starmer said the UK should act in closer alignment with EU markets “if it is in our national interests”.

The Prime Minister told the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg that “it would be better to look at the single market rather than the customs union to ensure greater harmonization” to preserve trade deals with India and the US.

But he ruled out reconsidering the manifesto’s promises not to rejoin the EU single market or customs union or end freedom of movement.

The comments are the clearest indication yet that Sir Keir wants a closer relationship with Europe more widely.

Conservatives say the Prime Minister is using Brexit as an excuse for Britain’s economic struggles.

The UK is already lining up with Brussels on some rules on food and agriculture to allow access to the economic European trading area known as the single market.

Sir Keir told Laura Kuenssberg: “I think we should get closer, and if even closer alignment with the single market is in our national interest, then we should consider, we should go that far.

“I think it’s in our national interest to go further.”

He added: “I actually think we’ve now made deals with the US that are in our national interest, we’ve made deals with India that are in our national interest; I think it’s better to look at the single market rather than the customs union to achieve greater harmony. And it wouldn’t be in our interest to give up now.”

Emphasizing that establishing closer economic relations was a “sovereign decision”, the prime minister said it had led to the best relationship with the EU “in 10 years”.

“My point is that there are other areas where we need to consider whether it is in our interests to do the same thing and adapt to the single market,” he said.

“Now this needs to be evaluated on a subject-by-issue, sector-by-sector basis, but we have already done this on food and agriculture and we will implement it this year as well.”

Sir Keir’s comments follow pressure from Labor to go further on the customs union; Thirteen supporters back proposals that would pave the way for such a regulation in a House of Commons vote in December.

Recalling that “Brexit is safe in my hands”, the prime minister insisted this was not an attempt to reverse Brexit; because no one wanted to “look ahead” to what the national interest was, rather than “looking at the bones of Brexit”.

Existing concerns have been expressed elsewhere Negotiations around the youth mobility plan For British and EU students, this may require the UK to sign up for free movement of EU citizens.

Sir Keir said: “This is not a return to freedom of movement, we will not return to freedom of movement.

“But I personally think it’s a very good thing for young people to have this opportunity.

“And when we recently announced that we would return to the Erasmus programme, so that young people can study, exchange and do research in a much better way than it is now, it was widely welcomed.”

Conservative shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel said closer alignment with the single market was “not the way forward”.

He added: “He is unraveling and unraveling Brexit and this is just another excuse for him rather than solving the fundamental problems that he and his government and his chancellor have created in the UK economy.”

Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokeswoman Layla Moran, appearing on stage alongside Laura Kuenssberg on Sunday, welcomed Sir Keir’s “warm language” on EU cohesion and said her party had “been arguing for a long time that we need to move in this direction”.

He said the government needed to “turn the big dials” on the economy but said the Liberal Democrats would prioritize a customs union because they felt the UK could not re-enter the single market without allowing free movement.

Late last year, Britain’s most senior trade unionist, Paul Nowak, told the BBC that “the closest possible economic and political relationship with the European Union” was “essential” to boost economic growth.

Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy also said on the News Agents podcast last month that rejoining the EU’s customs union was “not our policy at the moment” but underlined that Türkiye was seeing growth as a result of its own cooperation with the bloc.

Türkiye’s agreement does not apply to agricultural products and services, but it eliminates point-of-origin controls, which are a problem for the UK after Brexit and are proposed as an alternative to the UK.