Theresa May’s government wants to use Brexit to drive down standards and weaken rights – Keir Starmer

Keir Starmer MP, Labour’s Shadow Brexit Secretary, in response to David Davis’s trailed speech today, said:

“David Davis’ promise to protect workers’ rights and environmental standards after Brexit simply isn’t worth the paper it’s written on. 

“How are people meant to trust the Brexit Secretary when his colleague Liam Fox has said current protections mean it’s ‘too difficult’ to fire staff and Boris Johnson has described workers’ rights coming from the EU as ‘back-breaking’? 

“The truth is there are many in Theresa May’s government who want to use Brexit as an excuse to drive down standards and weaken fundamental rights. 

“Labour rejects this approach. We want a close future relationship with the EU based on our values of equality. That includes maintaining and extending rights, standards and protections.

“If David Davis was serious about stopping a race-to-the-bottom then he would have backed Labour’s call to block Tory ministers from having the power to rip up rights and protections behind closed doors.”