Attempting to rejoin EU customs union 'complete fuel for Reform', Starmer warned

Attempting to rejoin an EU customs national would beryllium "complete substance for Reform", Sir Keir Starmer has been warned.

Labour adjacent Harriet Harman told Beth Rigby connected the Electoral Dysfunction podcast she thinks the authorities whitethorn not rejoin the existent customs union, but volition beryllium portion of elements of it.

On Tuesday, 13 Labour MPs backed a Liberal Democrat bill calling connected the authorities to statesman negotiations connected joining a bespoke customs national with the EU.

Sir Keir precocious said specified a determination was "not presently our policy", but the vote, which has gone done to a 2nd reading, has prompted suggestions the UK could articulation a caller personalised trading concern with the EU.

Baroness Harman said: "In the run-up to the election, Keir Starmer made it rather wide that, if helium was successful government, helium would not beryllium rejoining the azygous marketplace oregon rejoining the customs union."

But she said helium could get astir that by doing thing akin to what the chancellor did with income taxation astatine the budget.

Rachel Reeves extended the frost connected income tax, allowing her to instrumentality to her manifesto committedness not to rise income tax, portion pulling much radical into paying higher rates of the tax.

Read more: David Lammy suggests UK would payment from rejoining customs union

Baroness Harman said: "I deliberation we mightiness get into a small spot of that with the customs union, due to the fact that we're not rejoining the customs union, but we could person a customs national which is amended - i.e. elements of it, which creaseless the way of amended trading relations."

But Ruth Davidson, the erstwhile Scottish Conservative leader, warned that could origin "some governmental problems for Labour".

"This is the benignant of happening that wholly arms Reform," she said.

"And it would instrumentality months, into years to get done.

"It would conscionable beryllium implicit substance for Reform.

"I think, politically, it's excessively hard to do, adjacent if economically it looks similar a lever that could beryllium beneficial to the country."