03 May 2019

The Guardian: Grounds for hope in customs union talks with Labour, says Hunt

There are grounds for hope that a customs union arrangement may be negotiable with Labour, Jeremy Hunt has said, as he warned that both main parties would continue to be punished by their core voters for as long as they failed to deliver Brexit.

In a Guardian interview, the foreign secretary said: “The ground for hope is that Labour has been clear that they want the benefit of a customs union arrangement – essentially frictionless trade, which is necessary for a Northern Ireland border and for our manufacturing supply chains – and we want that too. So if we can find a solution that brings the benefits of a customs union, that is something that could be a prize.”

His remarks suggest an agreement could limit the UK’s ability to strike trade deals on goods separately from the EU, but could allow it to make agreements on services.

Hunt said the local election results and trends in national polls gave an incentive to both parties to compromise since both were being dragged down equally by Brexit.

“It is actually in both parties’ interests to resolve this because we will both be punished equally hard by our core voters. If we go into an election not having delivered Brexit, the Conservatives will be punished because that is what we promised to deliver in government and Labour will be punished because that is what they obstructed. That’s why it is in both parties’ interest to be statesmanlike at this moment.”

Admitting that compromise was not in the DNA of either party, he said Labour would suffer just as much as the Conservatives by leaving the issue deadlocked.

“All parties that are committed to implementing the Brexit referendum result will have a day of reckoning – it is as simple as that. We promised to deliver that result by 28 March 2019 and if we fail, people are going to be very angry,” he said. [...]

Full article on The Guardian

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