For decades, Labour has relished the Conservatives’ unending civil war over Europe. But the opposition has its own divisions to contend with. There are those in Labour who regard its current stance as too Europhile (seven MPs voted for the Tories’ EU Withdrawal Bill) and a larger number who regard it as too Eurosceptic (49 MPs voted for single market membership in June).
The party’s recent support for single market and customs union membership during a Brexit “transition period” provided a point of unity and a dividing line with the Conservatives. But tensions endure. Shadow Brexit secretary Keir Starmer did not commit to permanent single market membership on the grounds that it could force continued free movement (which Labour’s manifesto pledged to end). For a significant number of MPs, concentrated in the West Midlands and Yorkshire, the UK’s future European relationship must involve significant curbs on immigration (35 per cent of the party’s 2017 voters backed Leave).
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