Prime Minister Keir Starmer is set to face fresh battles over his EU “reset” with his plans to lay a bill that would lead to closer regulatory ties with Brussels.
The Guardian reports that the bill will grant ministers the power to exceed the UK’s current commitments, allowing future administrations to potentially align standards in other sectors and keep pace with new EU regulations.
The government plans for the bill to run in parallel with the negotiations with Brussels, meaning MPs will start voting on it before the deal is finalised. This would allow Starmer to defend closer ties with Europe as a way of reviving the UK economy.
The bill is expected to be introduced in the next few months and carried over into the next parliamentary session.
Speaking on Sunday (4 January), Starmer said it would be “better looking to the single market rather than the customs union for our further alignment”, in order to protect trade deals with India and the US.
However, he ruled out revisiting manifesto promises not to rejoin the EU single market or customs union, or to end freedom of movement.
“I think we should get closer, and if it’s in our national interest to have even closer alignment with the single market, then we should consider that, we should go that far.
“I think it’s in our national interest to go further.”
“I actually think that now we’ve done deals with the US, which are in our national interest, now we’ve done deals with India which are in our national interest, we are better looking to the single market rather than the customs union for our further alignment. And it wouldn’t be in our interest now to give up.”
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