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Bloomberg
The UK’s opposition Labour Party wants Britain to stay in the European Union’s single market for an extended period after it leaves the bloc, a shift in its position that could undermine Prime Minister Theresa May’s efforts to deliver her vision of Brexit.
The proposal, which would mean no additional customs or migration controls in March 2019, would allow more time to finalize details of the UK’s departure, and give government and business time to prepare, Labour’s Brexit spokesman Keir Starmer said. It would also eliminate the need to negotiate a transitional arrangement at the same time as a final deal.
“There would be no need to set up complex alternative customs or trading relations,†Starmer wrote in the Observer newspaper. “It is a grown-up acknowledgment that bespoke transitional arrangements are highly unlikely to be negotiated, agreed and established in the next 18 months.†If Labour can force a Parliamentary vote in support of its position, it will put pressure on Conservative lawmakers who oppose leaving the single market to fall in behind it. Legislation that seeks to prepare Britain for leaving the EU returns next month to Parliament, where May doesn’t have a majority, and lawmakers are expected to battle over amendments.
Starmer was clear that Labour remains committed to implementing Brexit. He also said his party wanted to see a final settlement that allowed the UK “more effective management of migration†— something that would make permanent membership of the single market difficult.