Britain’s Labor Party will try to negotiate a “better deal” for post-Brexit free trade between the United Kingdom and the European Union if it comes to power at the next general election, its leader Keir Starmer said in an interview published on Sunday in the newspaperFinancial Times“.
Sir Keir Starmer, the British Labor leaderPhoto: Ray Tang/LNP / Shutterstock Editorial / Profimedia
“Almost everyone agrees that the deal that (former Prime Minister Boris) Johnson did is not a good deal. It is far too narrow,” said Keir Starmer, who voted to remain in the EU in 2016, adding that “as we get closer to 2025, we will try to get a much better deal for the UK”.
The trade and cooperation agreement governing post-Brexit relations, especially economic ones, between Brussels and London entered into force in 2021, with a review clause in 2025.
Its implementation has not gone smoothly, and leaving the EU is pressing and will continue to weigh heavily on the British economy, according to economists’ assessments.
Many companies are suffering from new constraints on trade, the difficulty of bringing in European workers has exacerbated labor shortages, the powerful City faces increased competition from other European financial centers, while London struggles to strike bilateral trade deals with other countries.
“I think we can have a closer trading relationship” with the EU, said Keir Starmer, whose party is well positioned in the polls against the 13-year-old Conservatives ahead of general elections due by the start of the year. 2025.
Seven years after the 2016 referendum, 61% of Britons believe Brexit is a failure, according to a YouGov poll this summer, in contrast to the Conservative government which regularly praises the country’s newfound freedom and the benefits of leaving the EU.
But Labour, often accused by the Tories of wanting to move closer to the EU, has already said it has no intention of going back on Brexit. “We have to make things work. The question is not about returning (to the EU). But I refuse to accept that we can’t make it work,” reiterated Keir Starmer, quote Le Figaro and Rador Radio Romania.
