Labour’s “five-point Brexit plan” won’t make Brexit work
The Rejoin EU Party has issued a detailed rebuttal of the Labour Party’s so-called “five-point plan” to make Brexit work.
It says the plan, proposed by Labour leader Keir Starmer, is a costly fantasy that won’t tackle the red tape, costs and other problems caused by leaving the EU, nor restore the numerous benefits the UK had as a full member.
It comes after Starmer today apparently claimed, in comments widely criticised on social media, that re-joining the EU’s single market wouldn’t boost UK economic growth “at this stage” and would create more uncertainty.
Former Conservative MEP and Rejoin EU Party supporter, John Stevens, described Starmer’s comments as extraordinary. He said: “If you’re to increase your trade at all without restoring British trade with the EU, the share of business you’ll be doing with countries whose governments don’t put people, communities, rights and standards ‘at the very heart’ of their policies will go through the roof.
“If Britain sets regulations separate from international standards increasingly determined by the EU, US and China, you will merely add to costs. If you’re not an international rule-maker, you’re a rule-taker.”
Labour claims it will “sort out” the problems caused by the Brexit-related trade border between Britain and Northern Ireland with new agreements to reduce checks on goods travelling between Britain and NI, extending some of those to the rest of the UK. The Rejoin EU Party argues they won’t significantly reduce Brexit red tape and will leave the UK following EU standards without having any say over them.
Labour proposes “new flexible labour mobility arrangements” for short-term work trips and tours by musicians and artists and to seek mutual recognition of professional qualifications, access to EU research schemes and a new security pact with Brussels.
Rejoin EU says that largely means simply contributing to EU budgets without getting full EU membership benefits. Proposals for mutual recognition of professional qualifications are only really relevant and significant if freedom of movement is restored, which Labour rejects.
Starmer’s stated refusal to seek regulatory equivalence for financial services would highly damage the City of London and tax revenue in the longer term, according to the Rejoin EU Party.
Party leader Richard Hewison said: “The first point of the ‘five-point plan’ is my favourite: Starmer’s going to ‘sort out’ the NI agreement. I’ve mentioned on many doorsteps this ‘sort out’ NI strategy to disillusioned Labour supporters to great derision. I share their incredulity.”
The party’s Stretford & Urmston by-election candidate, Jim Newell, said: “This issue won’t go away until we address it properly. Public opinion is changing and Brexit can be reversed.”
A more detailed version of the critique is available at https://therejoineuparty.com/policy-briefings/
The Rejoin EU party is campaigning to re-join the EU because we believe the UK belongs at the heart of Europe and re-joining is the only way to solve the problems Brexit has created. Brexit is broken and it’s breaking our country too. All the promises on which Brexit was sold to the electorate in 2016 are now increasingly exposed as fantasy. Far from bringing the promised reduction in red tape and bureaucracy and providing £350m a week for the NHS, Brexit makes trading with the crucial European market more complex, difficult and expensive and threatens to reduce funding for public services. Sectors such as farming, fisheries & financial services, supposed to benefit from Brexit, now face an uncertain future. If you agree Brexit is making our country poorer, less tolerant and less united, join us and send a strong message to Westminster that you want your EU membership back, along with all its freedoms and benefits.
Contact Rejoin EU at admin@therejoineuparty.com, visit our website at www.therejoineuparty.com and donate at https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/rejoin-eu-party-campaign-fund. You can also follow the party on Twitter at @rejoinp
Exactly right. Brexit can only be made to end, not work.