Unwelcome Labour U-turn on Brexit

Former MP David Winnick’s support for continued membership of the EU cost Labour the Parliamentary seat in Walsall North.

In Walsall North and the Blakenall ward in particular where I live, the vote for Brexit was around 75 per cent of all the votes cast, including min.

Many people are confused as to what is exactly meant by the Customs Union and the Single Market and the differences. The EU Customs Union is a group consisting of EU Member States (plus a few territories that are not EU members such as Monaco and the Isle of Man) that have joined together to remove tariffs, taxes and quotas on goods among/between those countries that are part of the same Customs Union.

Furthermore members of the Customs Union also agree to impose tariffs/taxes (all member countries agreeing the same level of tariff or tax) on goods entering from countries outside the Customs Union.

So, if the UK remains in a EU Customs Union, it cannot set its own tariffs (or decide no tariffs at all) on goods coming from outside the Union, such as those goods coming from USA, China, Japan, India, etc and therefore the logic is for the UK not to belong to the European Customs Union, given the referendum result.

As regards the EU Single Market – membership of this requires free movement of goods, services, capital (money) and people between the countries which are members.

Unless the EU agrees to compromise, especially the movement of people, it is not logical that the UK can stay in the Single Market and at the same time honour the result of the referendum. Consequently, Labour’s U-turn on Brexit will not be generally welcomed by voters in Walsall North and the Blakenall ward.

Pete Smith

Walsall