British Labor Party wants to strengthen ties with the EU without mentioning Brexit

For a decade, the UK’s decision to leave the European Union was the dominant issue in British politics. These days, it barely features. And it’s clear that Labour leader Keir Starmer likes that.

He has been working to win back the support of the working class, millions of whom were drawn five years ago by Conservative Boris Johnson’s promise to “get Brexit done” when Labour campaigned on leaving a path open to remaining in the EU.

Starmer’s reward is polls that now predict he will enter Downing Street as Prime Minister at the end of this week, possibly with a historic majority. But if he gets there, he won’t be able to keep Brexit out of the news for long.

Its mandate will be to stimulate economic growth. Businesses say this will require removing some of the barriers that the UK’s exit from the EU left in the way. And this, in turn, should generate the reopening of contentious negotiations with Brussels.

The UK left the EU in January 2020 under Johnson. In its determination to turn the page on Brexit, Labour has ruled out rejoining the EU’s single market or customs union.

But he says it is still possible to remove trade barriers with the bloc to help companies, especially smaller ones, which have struggled with higher costs and bureaucracy.

Labour does not want to “reopen the wounds of the past”, said Jonathan Reynolds, a Labour MP who is on track to become business minister in a Starmer cabinet.

“Clearly we need to get a better deal and there are real improvements we could achieve,” he told an event organised by the British Chambers of Commerce, the business lobby group which says parties should stop “walking on eggshells” over ties with the EU.

A survey by accounting firm Menzies showed that 1 in 3 British companies want to reopen the Brexit deal reached under Johnson’s government.

The data also shows that 1 in 5 want a new government to re-participate in the single market, with 20% citing the barriers resulting from Brexit as a factor limiting international expansion.

One of Labour’s first promises is to seek a deal with the EU that would reduce border controls on animal products, a hurdle for British farmers and importers. They also want mutual recognition of certain professional qualifications and easier access for touring artists.

Labor has presented these as relatively simple gains that can be made without reopening the Brexit deal reached under Johnson.

However, even these small measures would require difficult choices, said an EU source, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss hypothetical future negotiations.

A deal would require the UK to submit to dispute resolution through the European Union’s Court of Justice, the EU source said. This is anathema to Brexiteers, who see it as a violation of British sovereignty.

The Conservatives claim that the Labor Party’s policies would “undo Brexit”, including making the UK subject to the bloc’s court decisions again.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, in a debate this week, accused Labour of planning to accept a return to free movement of people in its plans to reach a better Brexit deal with the EU. Starmer has said he would reject any deal with the EU that increased immigration.

Reynolds said he wanted to improve the trade situation while also delivering benefits to the bloc: “It’s not necessarily easy, but there is a negotiation, there is a process that I can see to achieve these things.”