(Reuters) – British opposition leader Keir Starmer promised to seek a major rewrite of Britain’s Brexit deal in 2025 if the Labour Party wins the next general election, the Financial Times reported on Sunday.
Starmer said he would put a closer trading relationship with Brussels and a new partnership with business at the heart of his efforts to bolster Britain’s economic growth, the British newspaper said.
Britain left the European Union at the end of January 2020. In April 2021, the EU backed the post-Brexit trade deal with Britain, called the trade and cooperation agreement (TCA). Then British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that it would provide stability to Britain’s relationship with the EU.
This trade deal is due for review in 2025, with Starmer saying that he saw this as an “important” moment to reset relations, the FT report added.
“Almost everyone recognises the deal Johnson struck is not a good deal — it’s far too thin. As we go into 2025 we will attempt to get a much better deal for the UK,” the FT quoted Starmer as saying.
A spokesperson for Starmer did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Starmer, whose party looks set to win the next election according to opinion polls, also said this week that a Labour government would set up a new police unit to tackle illegal immigration and suggested he was open to a returns agreement with the European Union to solve the crisis.
(Reporting by Rishabh Jaiswal in Bengaluru; Editing by Sandra Maler)
