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Sir Keir Starmer has said he would argue for the reintroduction of EU free movement after Brexit, if he becomes Labour’s next leader.
The shadow Brexit secretary said his party must not be afraid to argue for free movement, and that EU citizens should receive “rights, not tolerance” from the UK.
“We need to make the wider case on immigration,” he said, speaking at a leadership event at Westminster Cathedral in London.
“We welcome migrants, we don’t scapegoat them. Low wages, poor housing, poor public services, are not the fault of people who come here: they’re political failure. So we have to make the case for the benefits of migration; for the benefits of free movement.
“I want people in this country to be able to go and work abroad, in Europe; and I want people in Europe to be able to come and work here. I want families to be able to live together – whether that’s in Europe, or here.”
Asked whether that meant he would argue for free movement to be restored, he replied: “Of course: bring back, argue for, challenge.”
Does 31 January change anything?
Friday will mark the start of what is likely to be an uphill battle to get a trade deal done by the end of the year, not to mention all the non-trade issues that must also be resolved including security and intelligence cooperation, fisheries, data, education and research collaboration.
Although everyday life will remain the same and the UK will remain in the single market and the customs union until the end of the year as part of transition arrangements, the withdrawal agreement will be a legally binding international treaty that comes into force. It carries sanctions for any “backsliding or half measures”, as Michel Barnier’s adviser Stefaan de Rynck has pointed out.
What happens next?
We know little of the plans for the negotiations, and parliamentary scrutiny of Brexit has been restricted. The House of Lords EU committee has invited but failed to get Stephen Barclay to appear to explain the next stages, sources say.
While business has been clamouring for the government to reveal its Brexit vision beyond the joint aspiration of a tariff-free, quota-free deal, little is known about Boris Johnson’s specific goals.
When will negotiations begin?
Expect plenty of sabre-rattling on both sides, but negotiations are unlikely to begin before March. The European commission kicked off its 30-stage process in agreeing its negotiating goals before Christmas and these are expected to be signed off by member states at a meeting on 25 February.
Who will be negotiating for the UK?
David Frost, who replaced Oliver Robbins as the chief negotiator, is expected to lead a team of about 30 calling on expert knowledge from civil servants and trade experts. Some have suggested the government should hire as many as possible from the Canadian team that sealed Canada’s new deal with the EU.
What about Northern Ireland?
This remains the single most contentious part of the Brexit deal because of the checks on goods crossing the Irish Sea. De Rynck said in January that the EU and the UK would have to be “very disciplined” if they were to get a new system for trading in Northern Ireland ready for 31 December.
Brussels and Irish political leaders are already alarmed by Johnson’s repeated declarations that there will be no checks on goods crossing the Irish Sea, even though some of these will be mandatory.
Helen McEntee, Ireland’s minister for European affairs has contradicted him directly, telling Sky News’s Sophy Ridge: “There will be no checks
Northern Ireland businesses have urged the government to set up a working group urgently so that the detail of the checks can be determined quickly.
Lisa O’Carroll Brexit correspondent
Freedom of movement will formally end when the UK leaves the EU on Friday evening – though the accompanying rights will be retained during the transition period, which is due to end on 31 December.
Starmer appeared to be arguing for a new, but similar, arrangement to be negotiated reciprocally, as part of negotiations about the UK’s future relationship with the EU27.
By contrast, Boris Johnson’s government plans to introduce a points-based migration regime that would no longer give EU citizens a free pass.
Speaking on Brexit day, Starmer urged his colleagues, some of whom have been ardent remainers, to “let go”.
“We leave the EU tonight, and the leave/remain divide goes with it. That divide has cut across families, communities, regions, the country. And we need to let that divide go. Leave/remain ends tonight, and that includes for the Labour party.”
Starmer appears to be the frontrunner in the Labour leadership race, with 85 nominations from constituency Labour parties (CLPs) so far, against 44 for Rebecca Long-Bailey and 18 for Lisa Nandy.
Asked whether Labour’s policy of supporting a referendum, which he was instrumental in pushing the party to adopt, had damaged its electoral prospects, he said there were many reasons for December’s election result.
“Brexit of course was among them. But the argument that Brexit alone was the reason – and we would have soared to victory untroubled, without Brexit – is just plain wrong,” he insisted, adding that the public had lost trust in Labour as “a force for good”.
He denied it had been a mistake for Labour not to back Theresa May’s Brexit deal, which could have meant a closer economic relationship than that Johnson is expected to negotiate.
“Theresa May’s deal was a bad deal. It didn’t protect trade union rights, workplace rights, environmental rights, consumer rights. It was a bad deal which would lead to a very, very hard Brexit and we were right to oppose it. Let’s not rewrite that. Let’s not pretend that it was a good deal, somehow.”
The first stage of the contest was for potential contenders to get the backing of 22 fellow MPs by 13 January. Five MPs passed this threshold: Keir Starmer (88 nominations), Rebecca Long-Bailey (33), Lisa Nandy (31), Jess Phillips (23) and Emily Thornberry (23).
The second stage requires each contender to win the support either of 33 constituency Labour parties (CLPs); or of three affiliates, two of which must be unions, and which between them account for at least 5% of the affiliated membership. This must be achieved before 14 February. Jess Phillips withdrew from the contest on 21 January.
The ballot of members and registered supporters opens a week later on 21 February, and closes at noon on 2 April. To be eligible to vote you must have been a Labour member on 20 January, or have applied to have become a £25 registered supporter by 16 January.
Corbyn’s successor will be announced at a special conference in London on 4 April.
Starmer also criticised Johnson, saying he was the worst of the three Tory prime ministers he has seen since he became an MP in 2015. He described him as a man “without any principle or anchor”.
“We don’t give up on the fight for a close economic relationship which protects our jobs and our economy. We don’t give up on the argument that we need to collaborate and cooperate with our EU partners, on scientific research, medical research, arts, culture, education. We don’t give up on the argument on security either,” he said.
“We need to give our EU citizens rights, not tolerance: and that starts with the right to vote.”
