Keir Starmer has ruled out ever rejoining the single market but insisted he wanted a better deal with the bloc.
Responding to questions from i during a campaign visit in Vauxhall, south London, the Labour leader rejected the idea of the country going back into the union eight years on from the Brexit referendum.
Asked whether he could ever envisage his party in government advocating to rejoin the single market or customs union, Sir Keir replied: “No, that isn’t our plan. It never has been and I have never said that as leader of the Labour party, and it’s not in our manifesto.”
He added: “We do want to better deal with the EU, that’s for sure. When it comes to trading. I want businesses to be able to trade more easily. The botched deal that we’ve got doesn’t work for them.
“I want much more collaboration when it comes to research and development and educational opportunities. And I think there’s a real opportunity when it comes to defence and security to have a closer agreement.”
Pressed further on his comments, ruling out an opportunity for younger voters, who were not old enough to vote in the 2016 referendum, to have their say on the UK’s relationship with the EU, he replied: “It’s the nature of referendum and I completely understand why you feel strongly about it.
“But the nature of a referendum is it’s a one-off … on a particular date and necessarily means that those eligible to vote make the decision.”
He added: “But I would also say this, I voted to remain. I campaigned to remain. But what that referendum did was to throw politics into turmoil for three years between 2016 to 2019. Our parliament couldn’t get anything done.
“It caused huge uncertainty. And I don’t think returning to that kind of division and uncertainty is actually going to help us rebuild our economy, rebuild our country, grow the wealth and create the wealth that we need to secure jobs of the future.”
He also added that UK growth was already on a downward trend before the Brexit vote.
His comments will come as a disappointment for voters, however, with fresh polling for i showing that 47 per cent of the electorate want the UK to rejoin the EU, with 39 per cent preferring to stay out.
The figure backing Rejoin is even greater among Labour supporters, with 64 per cent wanting to go back in and just 25 per cent against.
It comes after Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch claimed that a Starmer-led government would attempt to take the UK back into the EU.
Speaking to The Daily Telegraph on Saturday, Ms Badenoch said Sir Keir will attempt to reverse Brexit and bring the UK into much greater alignment with the bloc.
She added: “This is a 10 or 20-year project. We’ve just started. It’s like building a house and someone comes in and says oh, it’s not done yet, he’s failed. Or you’re cooking something and five minutes later, it’s not cooked yet, it’s not working, let’s stop.
“Making sure everyone is focused on getting those benefits is absolutely critical. I think that’s one area where I’ve tried to do as much as possible, but we need more of that strategy.
“That’s something that’s going to disappear if Labour come in; they will take us backwards. They will take us back to square one. They’re just going to copy what the EU does.”
