On BBC Radio this morning, Starmer said a possible return to Europe’s single market would create “years of uncertainty”. Instead, a Labor cabinet would seek to improve the Brexit deal negotiated by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
“At the time of the referendum, I wanted the UK to stay in the EU,” Starmer said in Leeds today. “But I can’t disagree with certain arguments that To leavevoters showed up. They wanted more control over their country and their lives.’
More power
To achieve that control, Starmer promises to create more and new mandates for local and regional authorities, giving them more say in policies related to public transport, infrastructure, housing and the overall development of a region. Starmer wants to create ‘business districts’ in the UK.’
Ahead of the 2024 national election and with a Conservative party in the doldrums, Starmer is positioning his Labor party as a government-in-waiting. Labor is more than 20 points ahead of the Conservatives in the most recent polls, so Starmer is already cautious about how a possible Labor cabinet will handle the situation.
Internal difference
However, there is an internal difference within the opposition. Brexit has always been a talking point in Labour, and while many members want a rapprochement with the EU, the party needs to win back hordes of former Labor voters who chose to leave the EU in 2016, run through 2019 to vote for Johnson.
Winning back those voters promises to be a real challenge for Starmer. He had previously campaigned to keep the UK in the EU. But with the UK’s political landscape changing and the benefits of Brexit – as pledged by the Conservatives – still not materialising, polls indicate that a majority would vote in favor of remaining part of the EU. But that has not yet led to major calls for reunification.