Labour Brexit gamble: Jeremy Corbyn unveils plan to use Brexit for nationalisation agenda
Jeremy Corbyn will today outline how he plans to create a new relationship with the EU that would allow a Labour government to nationalise large swathes of British industry.
In a speech this morning, the Labour leader will say the UK should negotiate a “new and strong” relationship with the Single Market.
Read more: Keir Starmer says UK shouldn’t negotiate its own trade deals after Brexit
In a speech this morning, the Labour leader will make the case for a bespoke Brexit deal “that includes tariff-free access and a floor under existing rights, standards and protections”.
However, he will say Labour also seeks to secure “protections, clarifications or exemptions” to the Single Market directives relating to privatisation, public service competition, state aid and procurement.
The new relationship would allow his party to deliver on its promise to nationalise key parts of British industry, including the rail, water, and energy providers.
Read more: Now John McDonnell wants to nationalise construction
Corbyn’s intervention follows his shadow Brexit secretary Keir Starmer’s pledge to negotiate a new customs union with the EU.
Speaking to the BBC yesterday, Starmer said the UK should not seek to secure its own trade deals after Brexit, because it would be more advantageous to negotiate deals alongside European partners.
Starmer’s comments put Labour policy in direct conflict with the post-Brexit strategy set out by trade secretary Liam Fox, who has pledged to start negotiating trade deals with non-EU countries as soon as the UK leaves the bloc in March 2019.
Keir Starmer said yesterday that Labour would negotiate a bespoke customs arrangement with the EU (Source: Getty)
Trade expert Shanker Singham, director of economic policy at the Legatum Institute, said Labour’s strategy would prevent the UK forming an independent trade policy after Brexit.
“It would mean no agreement with other countries, it means no changes to the domestic regulatory environment to improve the domestic environment,” he said.
“It totally takes your trade policy off the table, you would have no trade policy… The UK’s position would not be taken seriously, because the UK’s position would be Brussels’ position.”
Read more: Theresa May to give Brexit end state speech next Friday
Labour is outlining its new Brexit policy as the government finalises its own position this week, ahead of trade negotiations with the EU. Theresa May convened her Brexit sub-committee at Chequers last Thursday to talk through the government’s Brexit blueprint, and will outline what was agreed in a speech on Friday.
The Prime Minister is expected to back a strategy of “managed divergence” from the EU, with the UK taking control of regulations but remaining aligned with the EU on key areas to protect jobs and businesses.
Meanwhile, May will face a challenge from Tory rebels, who have pledged to vote on an amendment keeping the UK inside a customs union with the EU. Conservative MP Anna Soubry has proposed the move in an amendment to the government’s Trade Bill, which has been backed by Treasury Select Committee chair Nicky Morgan.