Jeremy Corbyn said Britain should stay in a customs union with the EU as he made a speech on Brexit in Coventry
BRITAIN should hand over millions to the EU so we can stay tied to Brussels after Brexit, Jeremy Corbyn said today.
The Labour leader confirmed that he wants Britain to remain close to the EU by entering a customs union with Europe - even though that would stop the UK cutting our own trade deals.
And he said Britain should keep most EU rules and regulations even when we have the freedom to pass our own laws instead.
But Mr Corbyn's plans for a customs union were shot down by Theresa May today, as she vowed Britain would set its own trade policy in future - while other Tories accused him of waving a "white flag" to the EU.
Speaking in Coventry, Mr Corbyn insisted the UK must contribute to the Brussels budget after Brexit - saying we should "support individual EU agencies" with cash so we can continue to benefit from their work.
He said: "It makes no sense for the UK to abandon EU agencies and tariff-free trading rules that have served us well, supporting our industrial sectors, protecting workers and consumers and safeguarding the environment.
"If that means negotiating to support individual EU agencies, rather than paying more to duplicate those agencies here then that should be an option, not something ruled out because of phoney jingoistic posturing.
"So we will want to remain a part of agencies like Euratom, regulating nuclear materials in energy and health sectors and programmes like Erasmus that give students opportunities to study across Europe, because they serve our interests."
In his landmark speech, he also:
Labour bosses admit their approach would stop the UK forging an independent policy on trade and striking deals around the world.
But they insist the new customs union would give Britain a say in the EU's trade negotiations with other countries.
The Labour leader reached out to Tory rebels, calling on them to team up with the Opposition to force Theresa May to keep Britain in a customs union.
He said: "I appeal to MPs of all parties, prepared to put the people’s interests before ideological fantasies, to join us in supporting the option of a new UK customs union with the EU, that would give us a say in future trade deals."
If the PM lost a vote on her Brexit strategy it could lead to the total collapse of the Government and possibly a fresh General Election.
Mr Corbyn also confirmed he doesn't want Britain to strike new trade deals with the world's two largest economies, the US and China, despite the potential economic gains.
He said: "Both the US and China have weaker standards and regulations that would risk dragging Britain into a race to the bottom on vital protections and rights at work.
"And Labour is implacably opposed to our NHS or other public services being part of any trade deal with Trump’s America or a revived TTIP-style deal with the EU, which would open the door to a flood of further privatisations.
"And we are not prepared to ask the British public to eat chlorinated chicken and lower the standards of British farming."
In a bid to claim the middle ground, Mr Corbyn told his audience: "The European Union is not the root of all our problems and leaving it will not solve all our problems. Likewise, the EU is not the source of all enlightenment and leaving it does not inevitably spell doom for our country.
"There will be some who will tell you that Brexit is a disaster for this country and some who will tell you that Brexit will create a land of milk and honey. The truth is more down to earth and it’s in our hands: Brexit is what we make of it together."
LABOUR bigwigs started to hint last week that Jeremy Corbyn was set to announce a major U-turn on Brexit - confirmed today when the party leader called on Britain to stay in a customs union with the EU. But what else did we learn from today’s speech?
Pay to stay: Mr Corbyn said he wants Britain to stay a member of multiple EU agencies, paying cash to Brussels in return.
Follow the rules: The Labour leader praised the current EU regulations for “supporting our industrial sectors, protecting workers and consumers and safeguarding the environment” and confirmed he wouldn’t seek to introduce new laws after Brexit.
No to trade giants: Mr Corbyn isn’t keen for new free-trade deals with the US or China, the world’s two largest economies, because he fears they would damage standards of goods bought by Brits.
Hand of friendship: For the first time, the leftie party boss asked Tory rebels to work with him directly in a bid to keep Britain in a customs union with the EU.
Lay out the welcome mat: Although free movement will end after Brexit, Mr Corbyn hinted that he will not seek to cut migration and will instead encourage migrants to fill skills shortages in the UK.
But Mr Corbyn, a passionate Eurosceptic before he became Labour leader, also took aim at the EU for its role in promoting free-market ideas around Europe.
He said: “I have long opposed the embedding of free market orthodoxy and the democratic deficit in the European Union, and that is why I campaigned to ‘remain and reform’ in the referendum campaign.”
He risked courting controversy as he confirmed that EU citizens living here will be free to bring relatives to the UK after Brexit on the same terms as now, and ruled out a serious reduction in the number of immigrants coming to Britain.
Mr Corbyn also blasted Tory ministers, saying they “can’t agree among themselves about what their priorities are” even though it’s now 20 months since the referendum.
He added: “The Brexit Secretary at least now promises it won’t be ‘a Mad Max-style dystopia’, which you might think was setting the bar a little bit low.”
Spelling out the details of Labour's approach to a customs union, he added: "Every country that is geographically close to the EU without being an EU member state, whether it’s Turkey, Switzerland, or Norway, has some sort of close relationship to the EU, some more advantageous than others.
"Britain will need a bespoke relationship of its own. Labour would negotiate a new and strong relationship with the single market that includes full tariff-free access and a floor under existing rights, standards and protections.
"That new relationship would need to ensure we can deliver our ambitious economic programme, take the essential steps to upgrade and transform our economy, and build an economy for the 21st century that works for the many, not the few.
"So we would also seek to negotiate protections, clarifications or exemptions, where necessary, in relation to privatisation and public service competition directives, state aid and procurement rules and the posted workers directive.
"We cannot be held back, inside or outside the EU, from taking the steps we need to support cutting edge industries and local business, stop the tide of privatisation and outsourcing or prevent employers being able to import cheap agency labour from abroad to undercut existing pay and conditions."
But speaking to the BBC afterwards, Mr Corbyn refused to explain how he would convince the EU to agree to his proposed solution - or what he would do if they turned him down.
Asked what his back-up plan was if Brussels played hardball, he said: "We would continue talking to them because that's how you reach agreement".
Mr Corbyn added: “The Plan B is to continue negotiating in order to achieve Plan A.”
In response to Mr Corbyn's speech, the PM's spokesman said: "The Government will not be joining a customs union. We want to have the freedom to sign our own trade deals and to reach out into the world."
Trade Secretary Liam Fox added: “This is a cynical attempt by Labour to try and frustrate the Brexit process and play politics with our country’s future – all the while, betraying millions of Labour voters.
“Labour’s confused policy would be bad for jobs and wages, it would leave us unable to sign up to comprehensive free trade deals, and it doesn’t respect the result of the referendum.”
And Boris Johnson wrote on Twitter: “Crumbling Corbyn betrays Leave voters - and all because he wants to win a Commons vote. Cynical and deluded.
“Corbyn’s Brexit plan would leave UK a colony of the EU - unable to take back control of our borders or our trade policy. White flag from Labour before talks even begin.”
Pro-Brexit Labour MPs have blasted Mr Corbyn's approach - veteran Frank Field warned he would "rat on the people's decision to leave" if he kept Britain in the customs union.
And backbencher John Mann said that Mr Corbyn should announce his approach to immigration after Brexit - claiming that most voters see that as the most important EU issue.
He told Sky News: “People who voted to leave want to have more negotiating power at work, their pay go up, and reducing immigration flow from the European Union... That’s the deal-breaker.”
Lib Dem Tom Brake said: “Corbyn started his speech claiming that Labour’s position on Brexit has been consistent, by which he must mean consistently vague. And today was no different.
“His slight movement on the Customs Union and some EU agencies might be one step on the road to rationality, but there is still a long way to go before the rhetoric meets reality.”
But the speech was welcomed by some business groups and trade unions who argued Labour's approach would provide certainty to employers by keeping the rules the same.
Sometimes you’ve got to give it to Comrade Corbyn. He may be an unreconstructed Marxist, a danger to Britain, a friend to some of our worst enemies the world over, but in his speech setting out Labour’s plans on Brexit he showed he can be an operator when he wants to be.
Having kept his cards close to his chest for months, he laid out a strategy that puts clear water between him and Theresa May’s government – and set the stage for an epic battle in the months to come.
Yes, a lot of the speech was waffle that would do Birdseye proud. There was the usual socialist baloney promising a future of motherhood, apple pie and equality for all.
He also made the major mistake of saying that controlling immigration was not a top priority for him. Memo to Jeremy: it is to millions of your supporters.
But he did make a strong statement that Labour would seek “a new, comprehensive customs union” – and one that would mean the UK has a say in future trade deals.
OK, there’s a big question mark over whether this would ever be possible. He said he would be against any trade deal between the US and the EU – but in the arrangement he wants, Corbyn would have no power to stop this. No veto, no vote.
A lot of what he’s seeking is pure fantasy. It’s a “bespoke” deal he wants, which gives us all the advantages of leaving the EU – the independence, the chance to set our own course – with all the advantages of staying – full access to EU markets. As Brexit Secretary David Davis said afterwards, he’s “selling snake oil” to his brainwashed followers.
Nevertheless, he has caused trouble for the Tories. The party is split between Brexiteers who want to leave a customs union and Remainers who want to stay in one. Corbyn’s speech opens up the possibility that those Remainers will team up with Labour to defeat the government in key Commons votes in future. It’s another fresh headache for Theresa May on the long and winding road to Brexit – and God only knows where we’ll end up.
THE European Union's customs union is a trade agreement between a group of states which allows goods to be shipped all around the bloc tariff-free as long as they are checked off in one participating country.
The countries sit down and decide to apply the same tariffs to goods from outside the union too. Critics of the Customs Union say we can scrap these charges on goods from outside the EU when we quit it - meaning cheaper prices for Brits.
Leaving would lead to mandatory customs checks for every lorry from Britain to the EU until a free trade deal is struck with Brussels.
Theresa May has promised that Britain will leave the EU's Customs Union when we leave the bloc, which will mean we can sign our own trade agreements with other countries.
She is keen to draw up a bespoke trade deal with the EU, allowing for the free flow of goods and services while cracking down on European immigration.
Britain's membership of the Union currently stops us from negotiating free trade agreements with other countries - because the EU does it for us.
Corbyn wants to negotiate a new type of Customs Union, but not the same one as we are in now. Tory rebel Anna Soubry has tabled an amendment to the Government’s Trade Bill which would try and force ministers to retain a form of customs union with the EU when we leave.
TURKEY: has a bilateral customs union with the EU, but it not a member of the EU itself. It signs its own trade agreements in some sectors, but only ones that are not covered by its union with the EU. Turkey is also required to open up its markets to any country the EU decides to strike a trade deal with - but has no say in the deal itself. The business lobby group Institute of Directors have proposed a partial customs deal for Britain like this one.
NORWAY: is a member of the European Economic Area and European Free Trade Association but not the EU’s Customs Union. That means it sets its own tariffs on goods that come in from outside of the EU, but that its own goods can go tariff-free into the bloc’s other countries. It is forced to incorporate around one in five of the EU’s laws on trade to do so, and also accepts free movement of people. Norway has participation in several EU bodies, but doesn’t have the right to vote. The country held two referendums on joining the EU but decided against it.
SWITZERLAND: is a member of the European Free Trade Association, but not the European Economic Area, EU’s Customs Union or the Single Market. It has a series of bilateral agreements with the EU which allow it to participate in bits of the internal markets like on chemicals, pharmaceuticals and machinery. But it also accepts free movement of people, and does pay some money to the EU. Switzerland has a joint bilateral commission that decides whether to apply EU laws to the country or not - meaning it has some level of sovereignty. And it has its own trade deals in place with Japan and China.
