Britain's largest opposition party, the Labor Party, is on the way to a major policy change, which could increase pressure on Prime Minister Theresa May to opt for a "soft" Brexit that means maintaining some formal economic ties after Great Britain leaves the EU.
There were clear indications today that Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn will make a policy U-turn and push for the UK to remain in the customs union with the EU after Brexit, to cushion the potential economic blow.
Labor MP and shadow Brexit minister Keir Starmer told the BBC that the Labor leadership is now unanimous in favor of the country remaining in the customs union with the EU. He said Corbyn intended to present a change in party policy on Monday.
According to Starmer, remaining in the customs union would significantly facilitate Great Britain's trade with the remaining 27 EU members after Brexit, which is planned for March 29, 2019.
He said that this would contribute to the reduction of tensions in Ireland. The prospect of a so-called "hard" border between the British province of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland has raised concerns about the future of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, which ended decades of conflict.
Starmer said staying in a customs union with the EU was the only realistic way to gain "duty-free access" to the European market. That would include reaching a "new agreement", because this way British membership in the customs union will end with the country's exit from the EU, he added.
Corbyn's policy shift would be significant as Labor MPs could ally with soft Brexit advocates in the ruling Conservative Party and increase pressure on May, who already faces deep divisions in her own party.
If Corbyn and Labor unequivocally support the country's remaining in the customs union, they will take the opposite position from the Prime Minister, who has repeatedly said that the UK will leave both the customs union and the EU single market.
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