Starmer: “Under Labour, Britain will not go back into the EU” - Really?

Are there hidden dangers in Sir Keir’s ‘Starmering’?

Montage © Facts4EU.Org 2022

What does he really mean? We analyse yesterday’s speech in full

Yesterday in London Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer gave the keynote speech at a birthday party for a pro-EU think tank, the ‘Centre for European Reform’. His subject was Brexit.

Whilst this was a private event, Facts4EU.Org has a copy of Sir Keir’s speech and we have analysed it. Below we present a summary for readers, with our elaboration of what his words actually mean.

For the benefit of any new readers, Facts4EU.Org is non-partisan. We only look at politics through the prism of Brexit, as well as the UK’s relationship with the EU and with the rest of the world.

Let’s start with the apparent ‘headline’ positives for Brexiteers

The headlines about Sir Keir Starmer’s comments yesterday are the same across the media.

“So let me be very clear. Under Labour, Britain will not go back into the EU. We will not be joining the Single Market. We will not be joining a customs union.”
- Sir Keir Starmer, 04 July 2022

So far, so good. If Labour wants to win back the ‘Red Wall’ constituencies it lost to the Conservatives at the 2019 General Election he could not have said anything else. Before our analysis of the rest of his speech, here is some context on the Labour leader’s views about Brexit.

Sir Keir Starmer’s track record on Brexit

Keir Starmer was an ardent Remainer who has the following history:

2016 Referendum : Campaigned strongly for Remain
Jun 2016 through 2017 : Failed to accept the result of the largest-ever democratic decision of the British people
2018 : “Nobody is ruling out Remain as an option.” (Labour Party Conference 2018)
2019 : “There are many in the Labour party who feel we need to be very clear about a second referendum and about making the case for Remain. That’s certainly what I’m advocating.” (Webinar, 12 June 2019)
Sept 2020 : “And on Brexit, let me be absolutely clear. The debate between Leave and Remain is over. We’re not going to be a party that keeps banging on about Europe.” (Labour Connected Conference, 22 Sept 2020 – the Damascene conversion after becoming leader after Labour lost the 2019 General Election.)
Jan 2021 : “I don’t think that there’s scope for major renegotiation. We’ve just had four years of negotiation. We’ve arrived at a treaty and now we’ve got to make that treaty work.” (Andrew Marr Show, BBC, 11 Jan 2021)

So, what else did the Labour leader say yesterday?

Brexit Facts4EU.Org Summary

Excerpts from Sir Keir Starmer’s speech, Mon 04 Jun 2022

“There are some who say ‘we don’t need to make Brexit work - we need to reverse it.’ I couldn’t disagree more. Because you cannot move forward… if you’re constantly focused on the arguments of the past.”
“Now, I know some people don’t want to hear that, but… It would simply be a recipe for more division… It is a proper plan to Make Brexit Work…. and you wouldn’t expect the lawyer in the room to skim on the detail.”

Sadly there was no detail in the speech.

1. The Northern Ireland veterinary and foods question

“The first step is clear and obvious. We must sort out the Northern Ireland Protocol. If you’re going to Make Brexit Work, that has to be the starting point.”
“As well as building trust, Labour would eliminate most border checks created by the Tory Brexit deal with a new veterinary agreement for agri-products between the UK and EU.”

This would mean aligning the UK’s food and agricultural laws permanently with those of Brussels. The UK would have no say over these and would simply have to apply the EU’s laws, rules and regulations automatically. It would also severely hinder the trade deals the UK has already been signing with countries around the world.

“Labour would extend that new veterinary agreement to cover all the UK, seeking to build on agreements and mechanisms already in place between the EU and other countries - benefiting our exporters at a stroke.”

The EU has consistently refused to do this.

2. Re-unifying the United Kingdom

“And we will work with business to put in place a better scheme to allow low-risk goods to enter Northern Ireland without unnecessary checks.”

This would require a renegotiation of the Treaty, which the EU has refused.

“We will not renegotiate.”
- Maros Sefcovic, EU Commission Vice President in charge of UK-EU relations

3. Mutual recognition of standards

“The third step will be to support Britain’s world-leading industries. That means mutual recognition of professional qualifications ensuring our services can compete and restoring access to funding and vital research programmes.”

The EU aren’t interested.

4. Security and intelligence

“…Labour will seek new security arrangements to defend our borders. It’s why we will share data, intelligence, and best practice and it’s why we will set up joint intelligence working here and in Europe.”

The EU would grab this in an instant. The UK’s intelligence services are known to be the best in Europe. It would have ongoing implications for the UK’s membership of the ‘Five Eyes’ intelligence apparatus with its allies around the world.

Sir Keir’s statement also implies acceptance of the ‘European Arrest Warrant’, whereby foreign judges can order the extradition of UK nationals to countries on grounds no British court could accept. There is no doubt the EU would demand this.

Finally, and as we have reported many times, the EU has no interest in a ‘returns’ agreement for its illegal migrants crossing the English Channel in ever-increasing numbers.

Observations

There are two main points we would make about Sir Keir Starmer’s speech yesterday.

Firstly, he is naïve about the EU. We must do our best to have cordial relations with our neighbours but we are dealing with an autocratic regime, run by unelected bureacrats intent on punishing the British people for having voted to leave their empire.

Secondly, there is every possibility that Labour might end up forming a coalition government with the LibDems after the next General Election.

Given the LibDems’ stated intention to take the UK back into the European Union, what compromises would Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour Party make in order to form a government?

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[ Sources: CER | Labour Party ] Politicians and journalists can contact us for details, as ever.

Brexit Facts4EU.Org, Tues 05 July 2022

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Reader Comments 14

11. Have You Wondered , Tuesday, July 05, 2022, 17:09:

Have You Wondered how Lagarde the ECB chief (with a criminal record en. wikipedia. org wiki Christine Lagarde) will cope with this along with the never repayable EU 'credit card' - Target2.
.
More QE as (10) Jon Livesey suggests with yet another acronym as a disguise?
.
If you have never heard of Target2 you might want to look up:
.
Target2: The silent bailout system that keeps the euro afloat
.
Professor David Blake City University of London
.
Conclusion p.55 is the easiest explanation of the article.
.
If you want another version look up
.
You tube: 'How the Euro Dies' v=ztoGCErCSqU
.
Or Oliver Hartwich has a good take and explanation and worth watching to the end.
.
w w w .youtube. Com /watch? v= q2QYaJGgtw8&ab _channel =Payments NZ
.
What's the next move on the chess board?
.

12. jon livesey , Tuesday, July 05, 2022, 18:03:

11. Have You Wondered: Good points. The ECB has two issues to deal with, and I think QE is the smaller problem. If they issue more stimulus then the euro exchange rate declines, but they don't care about that because it just makes EU exports cheaper. The more important problem is divergence within the euro. The famous euro crisis of 2008 took place because the peripheral nations lost competitiveness versus the core due to higher wage and price inflation. Draghi "fixed" that problem by buying peripheral debt, but at the same time the EU imposed austerity - far harsher than any austerity the UK had - on the periphery and that reduced their long-term investments. Now divergence is back, maybe, at least the signs are there, and this time the ECB plans to buy peripheral debt and sell core debt. That might work yet again, but it still does not address the real problem which is lack of investment and competitiveness in the periphery, which as you note, shows up in Target2 which is very roughly the accumulated German trade surplus versus the rest of the euro area. Germany can and to some extent does spend its Target2 balance by buying assets in the euro area outside Germany, but I am not sure that is what the rest of the EU really wants.

13. Laurie Arthurs , Wednesday, July 06, 2022, 05:51:

I remember him saying he would respect the vote to leave the EU. He then campaigned like hell for a second vote and obstructed everything he could at every turn. He then supported an anti Jewish Labour leader in his bid to become PM. I wouldnt trust him.

14. Adam , Wednesday, July 06, 2022, 10:18:

I don't like the Tories whatsoever but I dislike Labour liberals and SNP more so Truss or Wallace Will be the next PM good riddance to Johnson you will not be missed

14 comments, page 2 of 2

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