Sir Keir Starmer must not accept further EU influence as he seeks closer ties with Britain’s nearest neighbours, the Conservatives have said.
As the Prime Minister prepares to meet European leaders in Belgium on Monday, Kemi Badenoch has called on Sir Keir to meet five “tests” which the Tories claim will maintain their vision for Brexit.
Mrs Badenoch, who supported the leave campaign in the Brexit referendum, has issued the challenge to Sir Keir following the fifth anniversary of UK leaving the European Union on January 31.
Among the tests she has called on the Prime Minister to meet are commitments to: no “backsliding” on free movement or the compulsory transfer of asylum seekers; no new money paid to the EU; and no reduction in fishing rights.
She also urged Sir Keir not to take any rules from the EU as he seeks to “reset” the relationship with the bloc, including dynamic alignment on trade standards, or allowing the European courts to have jurisdiction over UK law.
Nato must have “primacy” when it comes to European security, the Tory leader said in her final test for the PM.
“Five years ago the Conservatives broke the deadlock and got Brexit done,” Mrs Badenoch said.
She added: “We delivered the biggest democratic mandate in our country’s history. Keir Starmer and his Labour party opposed us every step of the way – they tried to cancel the referendum and stop us taking back control.
“Now Keir Starmer and the Labour Government are trying to reopen the divisions of the past and edge us back into the EU. So I’m setting Keir Starmer five tests to make sure he doesn’t undo Brexit.
“These tests will ensure we seize the opportunities of the future and use our independence to grow the British economy. Under my leadership, the Conservatives will always stand up for Britain and fight for our hard-won freedoms.”
Alongside the five tests, the Tory leader also called on Sir Keir to maintain freedoms over the UK’s borders, taxes and financial services regulation.
She also urged the Prime Minister to maintain the UK’s right to pursue trade deals – including with the US – outside the EU customs union.
Environmental protections and business regulation must also remain in the remit of Britain’s leaders, the Tory leader said.
During his visit to Belgium on Monday, Sir Keir will join European Council leaders at an informal retreat ahead of an EU-UK summit later this year.
The Prime Minister will attend a working dinner expected to focus on defence co-operation.
He will later meet Nato secretary general Mark Rutte at the alliance’s headquarters in Brussels.
A Labour spokesperson described the Brexit “tests” as “yet more hypocrisy from Kemi Badenoch and the Conservatives who had eight years to make a success of Brexit but failed”.
They added: “After running an open border experiment that resulted in record high net migration, the Conservatives completely botched the job on Brexit – a record so bad that Kemi Badenoch herself publicly criticised Conservatives’ ‘mistakes’ on Brexit in her first speech as leader.”
