UK: Labour's Corbyn backs Customs Union membership

By Muhammad Mussa

LONDON (AA) - Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn on Monday came out in favor of Britain remaining in the Customs Union after the Brexit process has been completed.

“Labour would seek a final deal that gives full access to European markets and maintains the benefits of the single market and the Customs Union… We have long argued that a Customs Union is a viable option for the final deal,” Corbyn said in a speech at Coventry University in central England.

“So Labour would seek to negotiate a new comprehensive U.K.-EU Customs Union to ensure that there are no tariffs with Europe and to help avoid any need for a hard border in Northern Ireland,” he added.

Nonetheless he argued that Labour would only stay in the Customs Union if it has a say in future EU trade deals.

Labour has shown a resurgence in the polls in recent months, currently polling ahead of the ruling Conservatives 42 percent to 40 percent, according to a YouGov poll released last week.

Corbyn’s support for Customs Union membership could win him support from businesses and industries as well as from pro-Remain members of the public and within his party.

His move also adds pressure to Prime Minister Theresa May over the second phase of Brexit negotiations, narrowing the chances for a hard Brexit.

-EU agencies

Corbyn also said Britain should remain in some EU agencies post-Brexit, arguing that “it makes no sense for the U.K. to abandon EU agencies and tariff-free trading rules that have served us well.”

“So we will want to remain a part of agencies like Euratom, regulating nuclear materials in energy and health sectors and programs like Erasmus that give students opportunities to study across Europe, because they serve our interests,” he added.

On the topic of the single market, Corbyn stopped short of a clear position on continued membership, but did say: “Labour would negotiate a new and strong relationship with the single market that includes full tariff-free access and a floor under existing rights, standards, and protections.”

“Every country, whether it’s Turkey, Switzerland, or Norway that is geographically close to the EU, without being an EU member state has some sort of close relationship to the EU. Some more advantageous than others,” he said.

“Britain will need a bespoke, negotiated relationship of its own.”

Turkey has a Customs Union deal with the EU that is pressing to upgrade.

-Euroskeptic Corbyn

As Corbyn is a well-known Euroskeptic who has faced criticism for not doing enough to campaign against Brexit, it is likely that he would not back continued membership in the single market, especially the principle of freedom of movement.

Corbyn also criticized May for failing to deliver a Brexit that would work for the whole of Britain, adding: “The country is still in the dark about what this divided Conservative government actually wants out of Brexit.”

May is expected to soon deliver a major speech on her government's plans for a future trade relationship with the EU.

Also this week, the EU is expected to publish a text which they say will translate a deal struck between the U.K. and EU last December into a legally binding agreement.

Britain is set to leave the EU on 29 March 2019, but the sides are expected to agree on a transition period, which the EU says will end in December 2020.