Labour will back new Brexit legislation if PM
addresses concerns, says Starmer
Ex-prime ministers Tony Blair and John Major unite to
condemn internal market bill
PA Media
Sat 12 Sep
2020 23.03 BSTLast modified on Sat 12 Sep 2020 23.18 BST
‘If the
government fixes the substantial cross-party concerns that have been raised
about the internal market bill, then we are prepared to back it,’ Starmer says.
Photograph: Aaron Chown/PA
Sir Keir
Starmer has committed Labour to back Boris Johnson’s new Brexit legislation if
the prime minister addresses “substantial cross-party concerns”.
The Labour
leader accused the prime minister of having “turned the clock back” and of
“reigniting old rows” by working to override his own withdrawal agreement.
Starmer
contended a free trade deal can still be struck with Brussels if negotiators
from both sides “hunker down in good faith and break the logjam”.
And,
writing in the Sunday Telegraph, he threw down the gauntlet to Johnson as he
faces a rebellion from within his own party by saying Labour could back the
internal market bill.
“Labour is
prepared to play its part in making that happen. If the government fixes the
substantial cross-party concerns that have been raised about the internal
market bill, then we are prepared to back it,” Starmer said.
“But if
they do not, and the talks collapse, then it is their failure and incompetence
that will have let the British people down.”
But the
changes necessary to win Labour’s support are understood to be major, with it
needing to no longer risk breaching international law and to address devolved
administrations concerns of a “power grab”.
Starmer
said ministers are facing a task “as ludicrous as it is frustrating” in telling
the public to stick to rules to prevent the spread of coronavirus while
defending the potential breach of international law.
“The
priorities of the British people. We should be getting on with defeating this
virus, not banging on about Europe,” the MP said.
“Get on
with Brexit and defeat the virus. That should be the government’s mantra.”
Senior
Tories are tabling an amendment to the Bill, which is due to be debated in the
Commons on Monday.
And three
Conservative former leaders, including ex-prime ministers Theresa May and Sir
John Major, are among those to have called on Johnson to change the
legislation.
Major and
Tony Blair united in the Sunday Times to condemn Johnson’s Brexit legislation
as imperilling the Irish peace process, trade negotiations and the UK’s
integrity.
The
Conservative and Labour grandees wrote: “It puts the Good Friday agreement at
risk, because it negates the predictability, political stability and legal
clarity that are integral to the delicate balance between the north and south
of Ireland that is at the core of the peace process.
“This has
wide-ranging ramifications. It will not only make negotiation with the EU more
difficult, but also any trade negotiations with other nations, including the
United States. Once trust is undermined, distrust becomes prevalent.
“We both
opposed Brexit. We both accept it is now happening. But this way of
negotiating, with reason cast aside in pursuit of ideology and cavalier bombast
posing as serious diplomacy, is irresponsible, wrong in principle and dangerous
in practice.
“It raises
questions that go far beyond the impact on Ireland, the peace process and
negotiations for a trade deal – crucial though they are. It questions
the very integrity of our nation.”
John Major and Tony Blair: Johnson must drop
shameful no-deal Brexit bill or be forced to by MPs
Two former prime ministers warn that tearing up part
of the withdrawal agreement will jeopardise peace in Northern Ireland, make it
harder to negotiate trade deals and destroy trust in Britain
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