Theresa May should rethink Brexit proposals

Theresa May should “rethink her reckless red lines” and consider remaining part of the customs union and single market, Labour has urged.

Shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer said there needed to be a UK-wide response to Brexit, after the Democratic Unionist Party refused to accept proposals on a customs border, leading to a deadlock in talks.

But Brexit Secretary David Davis said Labour’s policy on the customs union and single market had changed “10 times” in the last year.

Sir Keir, who asked an urgent question in the Commons on the negotiations, said: “Labour is clear that there needs to be a UK-wide response to Brexit.

“So the question for the Government today is this: will the Prime Minister now rethink her reckless red lines and put options such as a customs union and single market back on the table for negotiation?

“Because if the price of the Prime Minister’s approach is the break-up of the union and reopening of bitter divides in Northern Ireland then the price is too high.”

Mr Davis pointed to comments made by members of the shadow cabinet on remaining in the single market and customs union, and said: “So much for Labour policy on this matter, we can see why it’s changed 10 times in the course of the last year.”

He continued: “The suggestion that we might depart the European Union but leave one part of the United Kingdom behind still inside the single market and customs union – that is emphatically not something that the UK Government is considering.”