Conservative response to Jeremy Corbyn’s Make UK Speech

Responding, Brandon Lewis MP, Conservative Party Chairman, said:

“Being a member of the customs union would be a less desirable outcome than what we have already agreed with the EU and would stop the UK striking our own trade deals around the world – something Labour previously supported.

“The House of Commons has already voted against staying in a customs union as it wouldn’t fulfil the result of the referendum.

“Instead of playing political games on Brexit, Labour should act in the national interest and deliver on the referendum result.”

ENDS

Notes to editors

• Parliament has already voted against a Customs Union. During the passage of the Trade Bill, the plan for a Customs Union was defeated by 307 to 301 (BBC News, 17 July 2018, link).

• Labour’s Manifesto committed to making free trade deals. Labour's 2017 Manifesto committed to 'work with global trading partners to develop “best-in-class” free trade and investment agreements that remove trade barriers' (Labour Manifesto 2017, p.30, link).

Labour’s policy on a customs union is not negotiable.

• Jeremy Corbyn has said he would negotiate a new customs union with ‘a British say’. ‘We want a new comprehensive and permanent customs union, with a British say in future trade deals’ (Jeremy Corbyn speech at CBI conference, 19 November 2018, link).

• EU rules are clear that they have ‘exclusive competence’ in the operation of a Customs Union (European Commission, accessed 23 November 2018, link).

• McDonnell admitted that Labour have had no conversations with the EU that show they could get their plan for the Customs Union.‘We’ve not had discussion in a way to enable us to say confidently that would be the case’ (Politico London Playbook, 14^th February 2019, link).

A Customs Union would require taking on EU rules on state aid – something Corbyn says he is against.

• Membership of a customs union requires implementing EU rules on state aid. For example, the customs union with Turkey requires that they implement ‘competition, State aid control and other relevant parts of the acquis communautaire which are related to the internal market’ (Decision of the EC-Turkey Association Council, 12 February 1996, link).

• Jeremy Corbyn has criticised the Withdrawal Agreement for hardwiring in state aid rules. ‘The deal makes no mention of retaining frictionless trade with Europe and offers only minimal protections for workers, consumers and our environment, while hard-wiring further potential restrictions on state aid for industry’ (Labour Press, 19 November 2018, link).

Labour’s own International Trade Secretary has described staying in the Customs Union as ‘deeply unattractive’.

• Barry Gardiner said that retaining membership of the customs union is ‘deeply unattractive’. ‘As a transitional phase, a customs union agreement might be thought to have some merit. However, as an end point it is deeply unattractive. It would preclude us from making our own independent trade agreements with our five largest export markets outside the EU (the US, China, Japan, Australia and the Gulf states)’ (The Guardian, 24 July 2017, link).

• Barry Gardiner has said that ‘in voting to leave the EU the British people voted to leave both the single market and the customs union’ (Hansard, 5 September 2016, Col. 48WH, link).