Starmer accused of having head in sand over cost of Brexit

Kate Devlin and David Maddox, The Independent

Keir Starmer has been accused of having his “head in the sand” over Brexit as figures show the UK is conclusively worse off five years after leaving the EU. The prime minister has been urged for a radical rethink of the Brexit reset to drive economic growth as he prepares to open his negotiations at a dinner with EU leaders on Monday. Writing in the The Independent, Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey today called for the government to drop its red line on an EU customs union — to strengthen our hand with Donald Trump. Following the inauguration he said the PM had to “acknowledge that the circumstances have changed” as he also accused Labour and the Tories of a “conspiracy of silence” over our relationship with Europe.

Already, Sir Keir has been criticised for a lack of ambition with his negotiations, apparently ruling out simple measures like creating a youth mobility scheme and setting up red lines of not rejoining the EU or its single market. And serious concerns have been raised that the Labour government has failed to properly acknowledge the impact of Brexit after a written parliamentary answer revealed Sir Keir has refused to carry out an audit on the economic damage of the withdrawal so far. Also writing in The Independent today, former Tory minister Dominic Grieve and ex-Green leader Caroline Lucas, the joint chairs of the European Movement UK, called on the prime minister to seek “associate membership” for the UK in a bid to “redefine its place within the continent”.

Grieve and Lucas warned: “The European Union is evolving, and with the risks presented by Donald Trump - from an emboldened far right and trade wars to rolling back on climate commitments and undermining multilateralism - the urgency to accelerate this transformation has never been greater. Franco-German proposals to reform and expand the EU outline a flexible, multi-tiered structure, with ‘concentric circles of integration’ at its core. “It envisions additional tiers for candidate countries, such as Ukraine and the Western Balkans, and offering ‘associate membership’ for partners, including, for now, the UK. This presents an opportunity for Britain to rebuild trust, foster closer cooperation, and redefine its place within the continent.”

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has also called on the government to use the planned EU reset to help drive economic growth, warning there is “no time to lose”. William Bain, head of trade policy at the BCC, said: “Firms are being held back by a complex web of red tape and regulatory burdens. This is ramping up costs, so improving our trading relationship with the EU could provide the impetus to growth needed to transform the dour outlook many are facing.” Meanwhile, Sir Keir’s government has been accused of “negligence” after it refused to estimate the official cost of Brexit to the UK economy. Nearly five years after Britain’s exit from the European Union, critics said ministers were putting their “head in the sand” over the damaged caused by the loss of the UK’s biggest market.

And they accused Sir Keir of lacking confidence in his flagship Brexit reset with other EU countries, following claims it has so far achieved little. There have been suggestions that Brexit could be costing the British economy an astonishing £100 billion a year. But the Treasury has refused to audit the overall cost. Asked if the government would estimate the impact of the UK’s exit from the EU, shadow chief secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones said: “No. The Government is focussed on resetting the relationship with the EU, which will support economic growth, the central mission of the government.” Former deputy prime minister Lord Heseltine said: “The government may be reluctant to do an assessment because it would force them to reappraise our position and to hasten our return to membership of the European community.” Stephen Gethins, the SNP MP who asked the question, said Brexit was “one of the biggest shocks to have hit the UK economy... it is extraordinarily negligent not to understand how those changes are affecting our economy.”