Keir Starmer rejects EU customs union after Lammy comments

Sir Keir Starmer has repeated that he is not planning to rejoin the EU’s customs union, after the deputy prime minister said countries in such unions see a boost to their economies.

Speaking on a podcast on Thursday, David Lammy said it was “self-evident” that Brexit had damaged the British economy.

He added that rejoining the EU’s customs union was “not currently our policy” – but highlighted that Turkey had seen growth as a result of its own union with the bloc.

The prime minister – who has said economic growth is his government’s top priority – said he wanted to build closer trading ties with the EU but not break Labour’s post-Brexit commitments.

Labour’s election manifesto ruled out taking the UK back into the EU’s customs union, in which the remaining 27 member states charge the same taxes on goods imported from outside the bloc.

The party also said it would not rejoin the EU’s single market, where countries adopt common laws in some areas to make it easier to trade goods and services.

Instead, the government is attempting to forge closer economic ties through a series of side-deals covering rules on food standards, visas for young people, carbon pricing and electricity trading.

But the issue has reappeared on the political agenda in recent weeks, with the Liberal Democrats pushing the idea of a new customs union deal with the EU.

Speaking to The News Agents podcast, Lammy said: “It’s self-evident that leaving the European Union badly damaged our economy, took us out of an important marketplace and created serious friction.

Asked whether he wanted to see the UK in a customs union with the EU, he replied: “That’s not currently our policy, that’s not currently where we are.”

However, he highlighted that Turkey, which is in a customs union with the bloc, was “seemingly benefiting and seeing growth in their economy”.

Turkey’s deal, which does not apply to agricultural goods, or services, reduces the the need to prove the origin of many goods it trades with the EU – a considerable source of trade friction for the UK since Brexit.

The model has previously been suggested as a more realistic option for bolstering ties than rejoining the EU’s customs union itself.

However, the arrangement does significantly curtail Turkey’s ability to pursue an independent trade policy – a key promise made by Brexiters.

Asked about Lammy’s remarks on Friday, Sir Keir said: “The position that we are taking has been clearly set out in the manifesto, and then we’ve been following it.”

He claimed that the UK’s relationship with Europe had been “totally reset” since Labour entered office last year.

Speaking earlier to reporters, a Downing Street spokesman appeared to play down Lammy’s comments, reiterating that the government would seek to rebuild ties “while sticking to our red lines”.

He added that Labour wanted to bolster growth through “open trading relationships” – pointing to the government’s trade and tariff reduction deals with India and the US, two agreements made possible by Brexit.

The Liberal Democrats seized on Lammy’s remarks, calling on him to “vote with us” next week, when the party is hoping to force a vote on the customs union issue.

The party’s Europe spokesperson Al Pinkerton added: “The penny is dropping that a customs union is the best way to fix the economic problems plaguing Britain. It’s time for Lammy to put his money where his mouth is”.