Hunt hints at customs union compromise in Labour Brexit talks

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt appeared to hint that the government's cross-party talks with Labour are close to bearing fruit on Tuesday, commenting that he doesn’t "personally" favor a customs union with the European Union but compromise was needed on all sides.

Hunt told BBC Radio 4 that the UK's economy was too big for a customs union to be a long-term solution, leaving the door open for a temporary customs agreement with the EU after Brexit.

"I want to look at whatever deal is come to between the parties, and I know this is a crucial week, and I would not want to affect the progress of those talks by pronouncing in advance. But I think this is a time when we have to be willing to make compromises on all sides because the message of last week was that voters for both main parties are very, very angry about the fact that Brexit hasn’t been delivered," said Hunt.

The former Health Secretary's comments come as BBC Political Editor Laura Kuenssberg said that the government is trying to get the Labour Party to agree to a compromise deal by presenting it as a "stepping stone", theoretically leaving Jeremy Corbyn's party free to forge their own deal if they emerge victorious from the next election.

"Senior govt source says it IS possible though to see a way to a deal, but unlikely to be resolved this week, and their aim is not to create some kind of May-Corbyn Rose Garden moment (imagine!) but to set out a path to get the Withdrawal Bill to Commons with a fair wind," tweeted Kuenssberg.

However, speculation continues over whether a cross-party deal stands a chance of winning an overall majority courtesy of the added weight of fresh backing from Labour MPs, or fail harder than attempts that preceded it due to a drop in Tory support.

Graham Brady, the chairman of the Conservative backbench 1922 Committee, insisted over the weekend that attempts to pass a cross-party deal through the Commons would result in a "catastrophic split in the Conservative party and at a time when the opposition is led by dangerous extremists".