DAILY MAIL COMMENT: Brexit betrayal would prove toxic for PM
There is no doubt that Sir Keir Starmer wants us to believe he is acting in good faith by renegotiating the deal that finally extracted Britain from the EU.
While refusing to say it out loud, the Prime Minister clearly thinks Brexit has been a disaster and that he possesses both the ability and charisma to fix it.
Even so, before, during and after the election, this Remain ultra has been at great pains to maintain that Labour will respect the referendum result.
Sir Keir has repeatedly vowed not to rejoin the single market or customs union, nor seek a return to free movement. He seeks only closer economic ties with Brussels.
We know, however, that he has a history of backtracking on his promises. Does anyone seriously think that this man, who deplored Brexit so viscerally he fought tooth and nail to overturn it while in Opposition, would give up on EU membership so tamely?
With a UK-EU summit on ‘resetting’ relations next month, it is increasingly clear No 10 is determined to drag us back into the bloc’s orbit by stealth. The stench of betrayal grows stronger by the day.
In return for closer trade ties, the Government is considering throwing open our borders to EU nationals aged under 30 as part of a ‘youth mobility’ scheme.
They would be allowed to live, work or study or travel in this country without visa requirements. Cynically, permits would be limited to 12 months – to avoid incomers being counted in the immigration statistics.
The PM has welcomed Ursula von der Leyen to Downing Street amid intense negotiations over a new deal between the UK and the EU
Sir Keir has made closer relations with the bloc a top priority for the government, arguing that the Russian threat underlines the need to strengthen ties
Having given an unqualified guarantee to tackle out-of-control immigration, this would be a disgraceful attempt by Labour to deceive voters about the numbers flocking here.
Quite justifiably, people will be furious. This scheme is little more than freedom of movement by the back door.
In America, Rachel Reeves provided further evidence that Labour is plotting a path back towards Brussels.
She met her US counterpart to discuss removing Donald Trump’s crippling tariffs from British exports and securing a lucrative trade deal. America is, after all, our largest single trading partner.
But hours before the delicate negotiations, she boasted openly that Britain’s trading relationship with the EU is ‘arguably even more important’. Was this rank amateurism by a hapless Chancellor – or a deliberate attempt to trash the talks?
Ministers may also cede ground over fishing rights to Brussels and unconditionally follow whatever regulations the bloc adopts on food and other goods – a form of subservience known as ‘dynamic alignment’.
These are not the actions of pragmatic ministers looking for a win-win deal, but ideologues prepared to pay any price to inveigle us back into the EU.
With local elections on Thursday, the PM’s apparent Brexit sellout is manna from Heaven for Reform UK. If the polls are correct, Labour and the Tories are going to be hammered by Nigel Farage’s disrupters.
Rachel Reeves held crucial talks with her US counterpart Scott Bessent yesterday as she scrambles to find a way of dodging Donald Trump's tariff attacks
Donald Trump has claimed the EU was created to 'screw' America and praised Britain for cutting ties
As Robert Hardman reports in a fascinating dispatch in these pages, voters are swarming to the upstart party. It is likely to win the Runcorn by-election, overturning Labour’s near-15,000 majority.
This is hardly surprising. From the problems of mass migration to a faltering economy and broken public services, the political class look out of touch, shorn of ideas and resigned to accept the country’s visible and accelerating decline.
After just nine months as PM, Sir Keir is already deeply unpopular. By playing footsie with the EU, he risks betraying the millions who voted Leave. As he’s about to find out, this could prove very toxic indeed.
