Labour, Sir Keir said, would not bring the UK back into the single market or customs union, but would try to negotiate deals with the EU on a sector-by-sector basis in areas such as agri-food and vocational qualifications to “remove unnecessary obstacles”. to exchange. His party would rejoin EU research programs such as Horizon and “share data intelligence and best practice” with Brussels to “keep Britain safe”. “We won’t be able to offer full frictionless trade,” he said, “but there are things we can do to facilitate trade.” As I listened, I had a strange feeling. I had heard something like that before. Then I realized: this was exactly the kind of deal Theresa May had tried to negotiate, before allowing herself to be pushed into the backstop. Here are some excerpts from a major Brexit speech he gave in March 2018: “We recognize … our access to the market … will have to be different,” he said, “but we should only allow new barriers to be introduced where absolutely necessary ». So he suggested that when the EU and UK negotiate a deal “it would make sense to continue to recognize each other [professional] qualifications”. He proposed “a comprehensive science and innovation pact with the EU” and sectoral deals in chemicals, medicines and aerospace. He accepted, like Sir Keir, that this would mean “keeping [EU] rules” in these industries, but argued: “If it’s cherry-picking, then any trade deal is cherry-picking.” This argument, unfortunately, fell on barren ground in Brussels. The cherry never came to fruition for either party. One of the reasons for this, of course, was that Mrs May was never able to convince the EU that she had any hope of getting her ideas through Parliament. Neither enough Tories nor enough Labor MPs would ever support it. And what was Sir Keir doing at the time? As shadow Brexit secretary, she said her negotiating aims were untenable because they did not include staying in the customs union. As he said in February 2018: “Now comes crunch time for the Prime Minister because the majority of Parliament does not support her approach to a customs union.” When he brought home Ireland’s backstop deal to stay in the customs union, he opposed that too. But at the Irish embassy this week, applause ensued, Guinness was flown and Sir Keir’s “constructive” approach was praised. Whatever they say, politics is a racial game, in which style trumps substance.
The Labor way
On the subject of hypocrisy, a Labor MP at CER drinks reiterated that the new Prime Minister should be chosen from among those Tories who had the integrity not to serve in Boris Johnson’s cabinet. I pointed out that Labor had not applied nearly the same type of purity test when they chose Sir Keir, given that he had campaigned to take on Jeremy Corbyn. In return, I was rewarded with a wry smile and awkward silence.
A dirty deal with the SNP?
Labour’s dilemma, if it becomes the largest party at the next election, probably won’t be Brexit or Corbyn. It will be what kind of deal is made with the SNP if the Scottish party holds enough seats to make or break a majority. Already, a division is emerging. The left-wing position, put forward by MPs such as Clive Lewis, is to give the nationalists what they want and let them have another referendum. But centrists and unionists will want to dig in and call the SNP’s bluff, offering them other concessions in return for a confidence and supply deal, and threatening another election if they dig. Sir Keir’s face, the pressure to back down on the SNP will be unbearable. We know he’s not exactly a man of principle.
