UK election: Labour says it would retain option of staying in customs union

Britain's opposition Labour Party said it would retain the option of staying in the European customs union and confirm the rights of EU nationals in the UK to stay in the country.

As the party prepared to unveil its Brexit policy on Tuesday, its Brexit spokesman Keir Starmer said a Labour government would discard Prime Minister Theresa May's “reckless” approach to leaving the EU.

Starmer told the BBC Labour would give parliament a vote on the Brexit deal which, if it led to a rejection, could see UK negotiators sent back to try again.

However, he refused to be drawn on whether this meant a new deal would include remaining in the EU.
Brexit is to be the central battleground in the short run up to the snap general election called by May for June 8.

“The prime minister, people say she has got a clear approach. But it is an approach that takes all of the options off the table before she starts. That is actually a very rigid approach, it’s a reckless approach, and it gives her very little to play with in the negotiations,” Starmer said.

“It is said often that Labour has got a nuanced position on this. We want to be smart, we want to be flexible. We see that in the most important negotiation since the second world war being rigid and reckless is going to lead to a far worse result.”

"Whether this is best achieved through reformed membership of the single market and the customs union or via a bespoke trading arrangement is secondary to the outcome. What matters for jobs, the economy and living standards is that we retain the benefits of the single market and the customs union."