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TUC Leader Urges ‘Closest Possible’ EU Ties, Including a Customs Union

The intervention intensifies pressure on Keir Starmer’s red line against a customs union.

Sir Keir Starmer speaking at the TUC congress in Brighton in 2024 (Photo: Gareth Fuller/PA)
Paul Nowak, General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) speaks during a press conference on the first day of the union's annual conference in Brighton, southern England on September 8, 2024. (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP) (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images)
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Any attempts to get into a customs union would run foul of an instinct which still sits deep within the EU that the UK cannot benefit too much from being outside it (Photo: Wiktor Szymanowicz/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Overview

  • Paul Nowak said the government should keep a customs union on the table to reduce trade friction and help ease living costs, arguing the current Brexit deal is botched.
  • He framed closer European links as a strategic necessity, citing Donald Trump’s unpredictability as a reason to rely more on cooperation with the EU.
  • Downing Street reiterated that Labour’s manifesto rules out rejoining a customs union, even as it pursues a broader reset with Brussels.
  • Momentum for a rethink has grown, with Health Secretary Wes Streeting and Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy signalling openness and 13 Labour MPs backing a Liberal Democrat bill to start talks on a bespoke customs union.
  • Nowak urged Labour to focus on the cost of living rather than leadership manoeuvres and warned many union members are backing Reform UK, noting the TUC represents 47 unions with over five million members.