Lord Livermore said a UK bid to rejoin the EU is ‘an inevitability’ (Image: PARLIAMENT TV)
A UK bid to rejoin the European Union is “an inevitability”, a Treasury minister has said. Lord Livermore shared his “personal view” that Britain would rejoin the 27-member bloc as he spoke in the House of Lords today.
But Tory peer Lord Mackinlay argued the Labour Government was “enjoying and using many of the Brexit dividends that were given to them”. The Brexiteer former MP said: “That is zero tariffs on anything it pleases. That is using subsidy – not a mechanism I particularly promote – but using subsidy in various places.”
He later added: “The Government is able to do whatever it wishes in whichever field it wishes to promote economic growth.
“And we see that also in the (King’s) Speech, with the potential nationalisation of steel.”
The Government has launched a consultation on suspending tariffs affecting a selection of agricultural goods, including fruits, fruit juices, pasta, couscous, and tuna, in response to the economic impact of conflict in the Middle East.
The Steel Industry (Nationalisation) Bill is making its way through Parliament.
Lord Mackinlay asked Lord Livermore to say whether he “agrees with some of the Cabinet that they would wish to see the UK re-enter the single market and a customs union which would stop most of those economic measures that are currently in the hands of the Government – they would be stopped at a stroke”.
The minister replied: “I think it really does take a Brexit zealot to say that something – you know, cutting tariffs may gain us 0.001% of GDP whereas Brexit itself has cost us, at a minimum, 4% of GDP.
Tory peer Lord Mackinlay argued that Labour is ‘enjoying’ Brexit dividends (Image: PARLIAMENT TV)
“Estimates now say it ranges from 6% to 8% of GDP.
“So we are seeking to mitigate at the margins the huge damage done to the UK economy by Brexit.
“The idea that is some kind of ‘Brexit benefit’ is absolutely absurd.
“Should we, in due course, re-enter the EU? Well, of course, my personal view is that that is an inevitability.
“Of course, the UK will at one point re-enter the EU because it’s absolutely in our national economic interest.
“In the meantime, we are doing the European reset and that is incredibly important in helping growth in our economy.”
Former Brexit minister Lord Frost warned that Labour cannot be trusted on the EU.
He wrote on X: “Treasury Minister Lord Livermore told us today that he thought it an ‘inevitability’ that Britain would rejoin the EU.
“In other words, Labour won’t stop now. Everything they do is based on the assumption of rejoining. One thing will lead to another. You can’t believe their manifesto and you can’t trust Labour on the EU.”
It comes as Sir Keir Starmer is pursuing closer ties with the EU as part of his Brexit reset.
But Labour’s 2024 manifesto pledged to keep the UK outside of the EU, the single market and the customs union.