‘Rushing a UK–EU customs union now would undermine real progress’

“For economic renewal, we have to keep moving towards a closer relationship with the European Union”.

Those were the words of the Prime Minister at a speech in London last week. Music to the ears of this unashamed Pro-European, who once founded a campaign group called ‘Remain Labour’ and publicly pushed the Government to advocate for a Youth Mobility deal with the EU with more than 70 parliamentary colleagues earlier this year. 

For all of us in the Labour movement who are determined to make a closer relationship with the EU a success, it’s crucial we reflect on where negotiations with the EU stand right now, where their focus lies and how we can best make tangible progress. 

In that spirit, I am writing to say that the Ten Minute Rule Bill being put to the House of Commons by the Liberal Democrats to advocate for the UK to immediately begin negotiations on a UK-EU Customs Union is not the right approach and, at this moment in time, would actively be counter-productive.

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My cards are already on the table, I told a fringe event at Labour Party Conference in October that I want to see the UK Rejoin the EU in my lifetime (notes to editors, I am 38), but I am committed to our 2024 Labour manifesto and most importantly, am alive to the fact that the European Union has shown no interest in negotiating a new Customs Union with the UK.

The EU is rightly focused on making progress on the Common Understanding signed with our Labour Government at the summit in May and turning this important declaration into substantive policy change. There are serious technical negotiations underway on a Youth Experience Scheme, the SPS deal on food and agri products, aligning with European Single Market, the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and the UK rejoining the Erasmus+ programme.

Alignment and agreement on each of these issues would represent a step change in our relationship. An SPS deal would significantly decrease – and eliminate some – checks on food products; for UK supermarkets, 80% of their imports come from the EU and for UK consumers, £250 of the annual increase in their food bills has been attributed to Brexit.  A Youth Experience Scheme would allow a generation of young people who were denied the freedoms of their parents, the chance to experience living and working in the EU again.

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Just as it’s wrong to say the current negotiations are not material, it’s wrong for the Liberal Democrats to assert that the EU has any interest in formally discussing a Customs Union right now. I’ve spent some time in Brussels in my capacity as Chair of the UK Trade and Business Commission and the repeated message I had played back to me was that, while progress with our Labour Government has been so welcome, there are real scars from the last ten years.

The EU wants to engage with us and to make progress that is mutually beneficial, but they will not quickly forget the chaos of the Conservative Brexit negotiations – with the rollcall of Tory Prime Ministers making new and contradictory demands. They know our Government is very different, but are motivated most of all by making and delivering on concrete agreements now. It would throw the whole process back up in the air to choose this moment to make asks about a Customs Union, before the common understanding from earlier this year has been delivered.

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My message to all Pro-Europeans is that our fastest route to a closer relationship with the EU is by making a success of this current round of negotiations. If we’re able to demonstrate tangible progress by the time of the 2026 summit, we’ll have something meaningful to demonstrate to voters, a more trusting relationship with the EU and a much stronger platform to build on for the future.

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