Labour Wants Closer UK-EU Trading Ties, Shadow Chancellor Says

Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves in conversation with Claire Walker, BCC Co-Executive Director, during the British Chambers Commerce Annual Global conference at the QEII Centre, London, on June 30, 2022. Yui Mok/PA Media

The Labour Party wants the UK to have closer trading ties with the EU, but not to rejoin the European single markets or custom union, according to shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves.

In an attempt to boost Labour’s Brexit credentials on Thursday, Reeves said the party wants to “get improvements” on the Brexit deal if it gets into government.

“We do want a closer trading relationship,” she told journalists. “All the evidence shows that the deal that the government secured has cost us exports for British firms and has also reduced investment into the UK.”

Reeves said Labour wants to increase foreign investment from and export to EU countries, and that the Conservative government’s new Windsor Framework shows that it’s “absolutely possible” to change the Brexit deal.

The shadow chancellor listed a number of goals including a veterinary agreement, the participation in the Horizon scheme—an EU research and innovation funding programme, and the mutual recognition of professional qualifications which she said would make it easier for British cultural industries to tour around the EU.

“Those are some of the practical changes we want to see,“ she said. ”Not going back into the single market or customs union, but particular changes which will mean that British businesses can export and we get that investment back in Britain.”

Britain's Brexit Opportunities and Government Efficiency Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg addresses delegates during the Conservative Party Spring Conference, at Blackpool Winter Gardens in Blackpool, north-west England, on March 18, 2022. Paul Ellis /AFP via Getty Images

But former Brexit opportunities minister Jacob Rees-Mogg dismissed the promise, saying Reese was “saying Labour would like to take us back into the EU by the back door.”

“Brussels won’t allow us a closer trading relationship unless we agree to copy their rules,” the Conservative MP said.

Reeves also said she would be travelling to the United States in May to meet “Democrats, economists, and thinkers” as the party prepares for government.

Stressing the importance of growing the economy, she accused the government of failing to seize the opportunities presented by new industries and the shift to net zero.

“We are still in the changing rooms and other countries are running this race and they’ll get the investment and jobs to their countries,” she said.

‘Awfully Long Way’ Since Corbyn Era

Luciana Berger, a former Labour MP, walked out on the party in the spring of 2019 over antisemitic abuse.

But the Jewish politician announced last month she had re-joined the party after an “incredibly heartfelt” invitation from leader Sir Keir Starmer.

Reeves said Berger’s return is a sign that Labour has come an “awfully long way” since the days of Jeremy Corbyn, who had “almost destroyed” the party.

In 2020, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) found the Labour Party in breach of the Equality Act (2010) for political interference in antisemitism complaints, failure to provide adequate training to those handling antisemitism complaints, and harassment.

The investigation was launched in May 2019 when hard-left Corbyn was party leader, following complaints from Campaign Against Antisemitism and the Jewish Labour Movement.

Corbyn stepped down after Labour lost in the 2019 general election, the worst defeat it has suffered since 1935, partly because of the allegations of antisemitism.

Following the EHRC findings’ publication, Starmer kicked Corbyn out of the party. He also confirmed last month that the former leader won’t be allowed to stand for Labour in the next general election.

On Wednesday, the watchdog announced that its action plan for Labour to address breaches of the Equality Act concluded at the end of January and it was satisfied with the reforms.

Britain's opposition Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn arrives at an event at St Martin-in-the-Fields church in London, on April 23, 2018. Matt Dunham, file/AP Photo

Reflecting on her 13 years in parliament, Reeves said she had “sat on the sidelines for too long, watching as government makes the wrong choice and then the wrong choice again.”

“And I have had to watch my own party lurch off in all the wrong directions too,” she said, referring to Corbyn’s time.

“But under Keir’s leadership, we have come an awfully long way. To me, nothing symbolises that more than my good friend Luciana Berger being back, at home, in the Labour Party under Keir Starmer,” she said.

“And after the terrible and unforgivable failure to tackle antisemitism by Jeremy Corbyn and the last Labour leadership, which almost destroyed my party—am so pleased that we have got it back.”

Taking questions, Reeves refused to be drawn on whether as chancellor she would commit money to the long-delayed restoration of the parliamentary estate at Westminster.

She joked that she often tells frontbench colleagues not to make any unfunded spending commitments “or they might end up in the Thames,” so would be following her own advice.

“This site is an iconic site and we want to preserve it for generations to come. But we have got to get value for money,” she said.

“We need to keep the costs down, because my constituents in Leeds West and people around the country are going to be very unforgiving if billions are available for a scheme like this, while the cost-of-living crisis is ongoing and whilst our public services are crumbling.”

PA Media contributed to this report.