UK-EU free movement talks are under way, says Reynolds, but voters will have final say
Business secretary Jonathan Reynolds says UK-EU free movement talks have begun as officials discuss a long-term relationship, but no decision will be made without voters getting a say, with the focus on the EU summit in November.
UK-EU free movement talks are under way, says Reynolds, but voters will have final say
Discussions between British officials and the EU about a long-term relationship that could include a return to free movement have begun, according to business secretary Jonathan Reynolds, who insists the British public will decide what the UK accepts.
Discussions on a long-term relationship
Reynolds told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that officials will talk to their EU counterparts about what future options for the relationship might be, but said the immediate focus for British negotiations is the EU summit in November.
That summit is aimed at easing some trading restrictions and securing a youth mobility deal. Reynolds said the changes to be announced at the summit, including a food and drink deal and changes on emissions trading, would make a significant difference.
'The British people are the boss'
Reynolds promised that the British people "are the boss" when it comes to what the UK will accept, and said no decision would be made without voters being given a say, without specifying whether that would come through a general election or a referendum.
"No assumptions have been made on this. The British people are the people who will decide this. They're the boss on this."
He said there were no assumptions made about the next stage after the summit.
Burnham's position after the summit
Reynolds said the prime minister, Andy Burnham, had made it clear he wanted to see a long-term and stable relationship with the bloc. The UK needs a way to resolve what its long-term relationship will be, he said, and Burnham will set that out after the summit, being frank about the trade-offs involved.
Caution inside Labour and from Reform
Within Labour, backbenchers holding heavily pro-Brexit seats in the north and Midlands are wary about reopening free movement or rejoining the EU. Melanie Onn, the Labour MP for Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes, was among those urging caution. She said she was still not over the kind of very divisive debate that accompanied leaving the EU, arguing the scars have not healed.
"So I do think that this is an unnecessary conversation to be having at this time."
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage told the programme it would be "very, very poor indeed" to begin discussing freedom of movement. He argued that five months ago Burnham told leave-voting Makerfield he would not reopen these arguments, and that two and a half years ago Labour won a large majority saying it would not re-enter the single market or customs union or reopen free movement.
"this prime minister has no mandate, and to hear that his officials are negotiating in Brussels already is really very, very poor indeed."
Reynolds said no assumptions have been made about the next stage after the November summit, with Burnham expected to set out the long-term approach afterwards.
