Overview
- Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy said rejoining the EU customs union is not currently government policy but argued it can boost growth, calling Brexit damaging to the economy and citing Turkey’s experience.
- Prime Minister Keir Starmer reiterated in the House of Commons that returning to the single market or customs union remains a manifesto red line.
- Baroness Nemat Shafik, Starmer’s chief economic adviser, privately recommended before the Budget that the UK rejoin the customs union to cut business costs and lift exports; the advice was not adopted.
- A Savanta poll found 67% of 2024 Labour voters would prefer joining a customs union to raising taxes, with 52% of UK adults overall sharing that preference.
- Negotiations on a broader EU reset face headwinds as UK talks to join the EU’s SAFE rearmament scheme collapsed over proposed payments, and ministers stressed any policy shifts will be set out in Parliament rather than media interviews.