Corbyn's U-turn on customs union could spell danger for May
Jeremy Corbyn's speech on Monday, where he was set to outline his party's shadow Brexit policy, could see the Labour leader pave the way for a mutiny within Conservative ranks, led by a small number of pro-Europeans in Theresa May's cabinet, potentially derailing the PM's strategy if he was to echo sentiments made by his MP's and senior spokesmen of Labour lending their support to a post-Brexit customs union with the EU.
No mention of a customs union could be seen in advance extracts of Corbyn's speech, but his office was adamant that it would be on the agenda as they reiterated that Labour leader's own ambivalence towards the European Union.
"The European Union is not the root of all our problems and leaving it will not solve all our problems," the extracts of Corbyn's speech in Coventry read.
"Likewise, the EU is not the source of all enlightenment and leaving it does not inevitably spell doom for our country."
"Whether it's our amendments or the cross-bench amendments, crunch time is now coming for the prime minister because the majority of Parliament does not back her approach to a customs union," said Keir Starmer, Labour's Brexit spokesman, on Sunday.
Starmer said the shadow cabinet was in "unanimous" agreement over the post-Brexit deal with the EU, saying its plan would do "the work of the current customs union."
Amendments to Brexit legislation, making their way through the House of Commons at present, could potentially see the Prime Minister's hands tied on the matter, as Labour's U-turn on the possibility of a custom union, something it had kept on the table as a secondary "option", exposed her to the threat of yet another crisis within Tory ranks, boosting the likeliness of another general election as polling tended to show the parties are on level pegging.
May, who had previously ruled out any form of customs union with the EU after Brexit, claiming it would limit the UK's ability to broker future trade deals, would risk alienating hardcore Brexiters such as Jacob Rees-Mogg, the MP generally considered as front-runner to succeed her, if she was to change her stance on the matter.
Remainers within Conservative ranks had also made clear their desire to see the UK retain a customs deal with the EU after leaving the bloc, choosing instead to forego party unity to team up with Labour MP's to defeat her in Parliament and to push for a meaningful vote on any deal she strikes with the EU.
On 22 February, Former Chancellor of the Exchequer Ken Clarke and former Business Minister Anna Soubry jointly proposed an amendment to May's taxation bill that would force the PM to stay in an EU customs union after the Brexit divorce is finalised.