UK
You’re living in a fantasy if you don't want closer EU ties, Labour tells critics
Nick Gutteridge
Mon, June 19, 2023 

- Reuters/Hannah McKay

Opponents of Labour’s plans to forge closer ties with the EU are “living in a fantasy”, the shadow foreign secretary will say on Tuesday.

David Lammy will forcefully recommit his party to negotiating new trade and security terms with Brussels in remarks at a conference organised by Best for Britain, the pressure group which campaigned for a second referendum.

During his speech to business leaders in Birmingham, he will unveil proposals to prioritise “economic diplomacy” in talks with other nations.

Senior Tories accused Labour of having a “plan to suck up to Brussels” and expressed fears the party wants to take Britain back into the EU.


Mr Lammy, a strident Remainer, will say forging closer relations with Europe is central to the party’s overall mission to boost economic growth.

“Last week, the Conservative Party press office attacked me for saying that improving our relationship with the EU will be a priority of the next Labour government,” he will say.

“I have no qualms about repeating this. Reconnecting Britain must start by reconnecting with our European neighbours. Because the EU are our biggest trading partners and our allies as we face war on our continent.

“If you do not think Britain’s relationship with Europe is of fundamental importance to our future, you are living in a fantasy.”

Top Tories attacked the remarks with Lee Anderson, the party’s deputy chairman, saying they showed “only the Conservative government can be trusted to protect Brexit”.

“This is typical Labour – doubling down on their plans to make rejoining the EU their top priority at a pro-Brussels bash organised by arch-Remoaners,” he said.

“Instead of spending their time at Lefty love-ins, Labour MPs should hit the doorsteps in Ashfield to see if real people agree with their plan to suck up to Brussels.”

David Jones, a former Brexit minister, said there were suspicions that Labour wanted to drag Britain towards returning to the EU via the back door.

Questioning why a new deal was necessary, he added: “We do, after all, have a free trade agreement and almost all EU member states, like the UK, are members of Nato.”

Sir Keir Starmer has said he will hand exporters a boost by securing a veterinary agreement with the EU that would see border checks reduced on food products.

The Labour leader has pledged to secure a deal like the one New Zealand has, where both sides voluntarily agree that each other’s standards are equivalent.

Brussels has twice rejected the Tories’ proposals for such a pact, most recently during talks on the Northern Ireland border last autumn.

Instead, it wants to tie the UK to a Swiss-style arrangement where Westminster would have to copy and paste EU rules on food production.

Sir Keir has also said he would reduce red tape for services firms by securing a deal on the mutual recognition of professional qualifications.

Such an agreement would make it easier for businesses to send workers to and fro across the Channel by scrapping visa paperwork.

However, the EU has similarly previously rejected Britain’s overtures, arguing that one must be linked to a wider climbdown on free movement.

The Labour leader has repeatedly ruled out rejoining the single market or customs union, saying that the UK’s future lies outside the bloc.

Sir Keir has also separately said he wants to agree a new pact with Brussels to boost co-operation on security such as cyber crime.

In his speech, Mr Lammy will also announce plans to carry out a “strategic assessment” of British embassies to prioritise those in emerging markets.

The aim of the review would be “to deepen our diplomatic ties with countries essential to the supply chains and economies of the industries of the future”, he will say.

Labour suggested that the outcome of the exercise would result in more diplomats being posted to economically booming countries such as India.

“The next Labour government will set our world-class network of diplomats a priority task: launching a new economic diplomacy, for the modern era,” Mr Lammy will say.

“Helping to create the conditions for growth. Navigating this new geopolitical and geoeconomic context. Driving forward the energy transition.

“Building partnerships and local capacity. Seizing the opportunity for Britain to have the highest sustained growth in the G7.”