Today’s the day we are set to find out the details of Sir Keir Starmer’s ‘reset’ with the European Union. If his previous attempts at trade deals are anything to go by, Britain will be worse off at the end of the day than we are right now. Because when Labour negotiates, Britain loses.
Sir Keir is meeting European leaders with a simple choice: Defend and respect the UK’s independence or begin unpicking Brexit, step by step.
Our great country voted to leave the European Union – a democratic decision that must be respected. A promise of a Britain where we could strike trade deals, forge our own way and be a rule maker, not a rule taker. Our prime minister should put the national interest first and uphold this.
But the early signs of this EU reset are worrying. And under Starmer’s leadership, the UK has slipped backwards on the global stage. The India trade deal offered overseas workers tax breaks while British workers faced higher levies at home through Labour’s reckless jobs tax. His talks with the US were rushed, and left us worse off than where we were in March.
And if today is anything like his trip to Albania, where that country’s PM stood next to him and told the media he wasn’t interested in the plans Starmer had travelled there to announce, it will be a bad day for Britain.
Keir Starmer laughs with EU President Ursula von der Leyen ahead of the sixth European Political Community summit on May 16 in Tirana, Albania
This is not how a country like the UK should conduct itself on the international stage – but that’s what happens when you enter government with no plan.
Britain needs growth and jobs, yet Starmer has piled record taxes on businesses and unemployment is rising as a result because businesses, not the state, are the engine of job creation.
Last week’s figures showed a 10 per cent increase in joblessness since Starmer took office. Job losses are more than just statistics – they are families struggling to make ends meet, food not being put on the table and people’s livelihoods unfulfilled.
If Starmer is serious about easing friction for travellers, a simple e-gates agreement should be agreed. Instead, his ministers are pursuing a youth mobility scheme that could be simply a return to free movement by the back door. Ever more low-skill, low-wage immigration is the last thing we need.
And if so-called ‘dynamic alignment’ is Labour’s plan, that means following EU rules without even having a say over what those rules are – that would be a betrayal of the Brexit vote, pure and simple.
We cannot afford to become a country that gives ground away quietly, piece by piece. But we have the world’s worst negotiator in No 10. And countries around the world are queuing up to take advantage. Our Prime Minister must get a grip and, for once, stand up for Britain on the world stage.
But if his record is anything to go by, none of us should hold our breath.
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Starmer HAS to respect our decision to leave the EU, says Shadow Chancellor MEL STRIDE