Labour Wants to Fix Brexit. Good Luck With That.
Three years after the UK left the EU, things may be even worse.
Keir Starmer, leader of the UK Labour Party.
Photographer: Stefan Wermuth/BloombergThe Conservatives may own Brexit, but the issue is as awkward for Labour. Earlier this month, London Mayor Sadiq Khan broke omerta on the subject and spat it out. “After two years of denial and avoidance, we must now confront the hard truth: Brexit isn’t working. It’s weakened our economy, fractured our union and diminished our reputation.”
Khan called for a discussion about rejoining the single market and customs union. That, however, isn’t on Keir Starmer’s agenda, at least not for the next election. Instead, the party will focus on changes at the margins. In a major foreign policy speech last week, Shadow Foreign Secretary David Lammy said a Labour government would “aim to fix the Tories’ bad Brexit deal to increase trade with Europe.”