KEIR Starmer is “doomed to make the same mistakes” as the Tory government, the SNP have warned after reports that the Labour leader has rowed back on a pledge to renegotiate the Brexit deal.
Last September, Starmer criticised the Brexit deal reached by Boris Johnson’s Tory government, claiming: “Almost everyone recognises [it] is not a good deal – it’s far too thin.”
He then pledged to renegotiate with the European Union should he lead the UK government in 2025, with a review of the Brexit deal due the following year.
Starmer told the Financial Times: “As we go into 2025 we will attempt to get a much better deal for the UK.”
But recent reports suggest the party has U-turned on that commitment.
The Telegraph reported that the Labour leader had “quietly dropped his ambition to secure a major overhaul of the pact when it comes up for review”.
Quoting sources from the EU side of negotiations, that paper said that Labour had “accepted in recent talks that a major renegotiation would not take place”.
Labour frontbencher Nick Thomas-Symonds insisted that 2026 would still be an opportunity to improve the Brexit deal, but added that any changes would “be – firmly – within Labour’s red lines of no return to the Single Market, Customs Union or Freedom of Movement”.
The SNP said the words from Labour showed they were “doomed to make the same mistakes as Boris Johnson and pro-Brexit Tories that have followed him”.
Alyn Smith MP (below), the party’s Europe spokesperson at Westminster, said: “Brexit, imposed on us by both the Tories and Labour who carelessly disregarded our views, has been an unmitigated disaster for Scotland, hammering Scottish industries and household budgets.
“And now, blinded by his newfound fanaticism for Brexit, Sir Keir Starmer is doomed to make the same mistakes as Boris Johnson and pro-Brexit Tories that have followed him.
“Labour can’t claim to be an alternative or an opposition to the Tories while championing the policies they brought in, especially when they are so toothless in opposition on the very slim number of policies they do claim to disagree with.
“Keir Starmer promised he would renegotiate this bad deal – but with this further U-turn he is making clear, once again, how untrustworthy and unprincipled he is.
“But at the end of the day this issue goes beyond the renegotiation of an existing trade deal, Labour should commit to the best deal – getting back into the EU, or at the very least, the Single Market and Customs Union.
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“Scotland needs representatives who aren’t afraid to call out Brexit for the disaster it has been and who will continue to lead the opposition to Scotland’s removal from the EU. Only a vote for the SNP at the next general election can secure that.”
Thomas-Symonds said: “The deal agreed by this Government with the EU means that the Trade and Cooperation Agreement must be reviewed in 2026 – this will be an important opportunity for both sides to look at how improvements can be made.
“A Labour Government would look to build upon the TCA to secure improvements in our trade and security relationships with the EU, including through a veterinary agreement and a UK-EU defence and security pact to complement NATO and strengthen European security.
“These commitments will be – firmly – within Labour’s red lines of no return to the Single Market, Customs Union or Freedom of Movement.”
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