Jeremy Corbyn will call for the UK to retain 'full access' to the European single market in a speech to the TUC conference on Tuesday, as he seeks to clarify Labour's Brexit position. The Labour leader will contrast his 'jobs-first Brexit' vision with what he describes as the Conservatives' desire to create a 'Shangri-La for bosses and bankers'.
Speaking in Brighton, Corbyn will say: 'Labour respects the referendum result but we want a jobs-first Brexit that guarantees full access to the European single market as part of a new trade agreement and relationship with the EU.' He will add that this approach would maintain and develop workers' rights, consumer and environmental protections, and use powers returned from Brussels to support a new industrial strategy.
Corbyn will criticise the Tories, saying they want to deregulate the economy and deliver a 'deregulated free market tax haven on the shores of Europe, underpinned with a race-to-the-bottom trade deal with Donald Trump'. The speech follows a BBC radio interview on Monday in which Corbyn appeared to soften the party's position, saying the outcome was more important than the nomenclature of membership.
Labour has previously said it favours continued membership of the single market and customs union during a transitional period after March 2019, but has been less clear on the long-term goal. Corbyn has stated that formal membership is only possible as an EU member, but a trading relationship that mirrors free trade benefits is open for discussion.
The TUC, representing about 50 trade union organisations, officially backed remaining in the single market after a meeting last Thursday. Frances O'Grady, TUC general secretary, called for continued membership as the best way to protect British workers after Brexit.
