Nigel Farage issues stark Brexit warning as Keir Starmer pushes for closer ties | Politics | News
Nigel Farage warned the UK is heading for “Brexit in name only” as Sir Keir Starmer continues his push to reset relations with the EU.
The Reform UK leader insisted it would be a “political impossibility” for the PM to look to officially rejoin the bloc.
But the Brexit architect said it would be “incredibly easy” for the new Labour government to mirror EU rules as he blamed the Tories for failing to diverge from Brussels.
Mr Farage told TalkTV: “Brexit was never delivered, that’s the point. We’re not in the EU, and we’re not going back into the EU either, that will not happen, that is a political impossibility for Starmer.
“But because the Conservatives didn’t take us very far away from it in terms of rules and regulations, it’s now incredibly easy for a Starmer government to mirror everything that is done by the European single market but without us actually being a member of it.
“That may lead in four or five years time to the argument, well we’re accepting the rules without having a vote maybe we should rejoin.
“I personally don’t think we’re rejoining, I think it would be political suicide for the Labour Party to publicly announce that because four million plus of their own voters wouldn’t buy into it.
“But what we’re heading for is a full BRINO – Brexit in name only. And that is disappointing in the extreme.”
Mr Farage’s comments come as Sir Keir is in Paris today for talks with French President Emmanuel Macron following a meeting in Berlin with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz yesterday.
The PM insisted he was not “reversing Brexit” as he set out plans for a new treaty with Germany aiming to boost business.
He said: “I’m absolutely clear that we do want a reset. I have been able to repeat that here today, a reset with Europe, a reset with the EU.
“That does not mean reversing Brexit or re-entering the single market or the customs union, but it does mean a closer relationship on a number of fronts, including the economy, including defence, including exchanges, but we do not have plans for a youth mobility scheme.”
Sir Keir said he had “clear red lines” ahead of talks with the European Union on the future relationship.
He said: “In relation to youth mobility, obviously, we’ve been really clear – no single market, no customs union, no free movement, no going back into the EU.
“So the discussion about a close relationship with the EU, is in that context and within those frameworks.
“I’m convinced, and I think you heard from the chancellor himself, that we can have a close relationship, notwithstanding those clear red lines that we’ve got and we’ve always had.”