Top Labour official Fiona Urquhart reveals party’s goal is to restore freedom of movement with EU – as Tories warn the real aim is to reverse Brexit
A senior Labor figure has said the party will bring back freedom of movement, as evidenced by bombshell comments seen in The Mail on Sunday.
They unveil plans for a reopening Labor government Brexit conversations, claiming that ‘restoring freedom of movement is of paramount importance’.
Last night senior Conservatives accused sir Keir Starmer of ‘lying’ to the British public about his plans.
Former Tory party leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith said: ‘This is phase one, two and three of re-entering the European Union.’
Fiona Urquhart, chair of Labor International, the group tasked with encouraging expats to vote Labor in next month’s election, has also pledged to give EU-based Britons their own MP in Westminster.
She also appeared to admit that Labor is not being honest about its plans ahead of the election, saying: “The party is cautious, it doesn’t make too many bold announcements because when it comes to power it doesn’t know what she’s going to do. being confronted with.
A senior Labor figure has said the party will bring back freedom of movement, as evidenced by bombshell comments seen in The Mail on Sunday
Former Tory party leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith said: ‘This is phase one, two and three of re-entering the European Union’
Last night senior Conservatives accused Sir Keir Starmer of ‘lying’ to the British public about his plans
‘But I cannot emphasize enough that the country is acutely aware of many of the problems that Britons face abroad, especially in the EU.’
In an interview with a local newspaper in Mallorca, she said: ‘Should Labor win the next election, it is prepared to review a number of Brexit agreements, such as the Windsor Agreement, and make it easier for Britons to come to Europe and to go.
‘Restoring that freedom of movement is paramount and a meeting has already been agreed to discuss the Trade and Cooperation Treaty for 2026.’
She also said: ‘The Labor Party has made it clear that it wants a greater level of freedom of movement within the EU for Britons, particularly for professionals and trade.’
This could include eliminating the 90-day rule [the cumulative duration of any stay in the EU within a 180-day period] and increasing the pensions of Britons living in the EU. Ms Urquhart added: ‘It should be part of a bigger deal.’
A Labor source insisted last night that this is not official party policy.
But Sir Iain said: ‘The EU has made it absolutely clear that it is not prepared to allow freedom of movement solely for British citizens, and that this should be a new negotiation.
‘What Labor is running is an underground pro-EU campaign that will surface the day after election day.
“Most Labor MPs will vote for it and it will come back in through the back door.” He added that Ms Urquhart’s interview “has shattered their real plans”.
‘Former Brexit secretary David Davis said: ‘You don’t get free movement just for Brits. This is a lie, a nonsense. The trade-off will be a return to complete free movement.
“If this is Labor policy, they should say it loud and clear, and they shouldn’t leave it in a Mallorcan newspaper.”
It comes after former Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned that Sir Keir would drag Britain back into the EU for all intents and purposes if he becomes Prime Minister. In yesterday’s Daily Mail, Mr Johnson said there was a ‘gigantic Labor conspiracy of silence’ over his Brexit plans.
In the interview, addressed to Britons living in the EU, Ms Urquhart said Labor is the only party prepared to “solve” Brexit, while admitting it is “too late” to reverse it.
Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson has warned that Sir Keir would drag Britain back into the EU for all intents and purposes if he becomes Prime Minister
In the interview, addressed to Britons living in the EU, Ms Urquhart said Labor is the only party prepared to “solve” Brexit, while admitting it is “too late” to reverse it. Pictured: people in Vienna, a day before the EU elections
It comes after former Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned that Sir Keir would drag Britain back into the EU for all intents and purposes if he becomes Prime Minister. In the photo: a beach in Palma de Mallorca
‘Closer working relationships need to be created and the only party that has made it clear it is willing to go down that path is Labour.’
On giving EU Britons their own representation at Westminster, she said: “MPs for Britons Abroad could eventually become a reality under a Labor government.
‘Although Britain does not have MPs representing Britons abroad, such as France or Italy, as a result of Brexit the British no longer have an MEP to refer to when they have problems. Yes, there is the Foreign Office, but it is more concerned with trade than with the problems facing individual Britons.’
Labor International is a Labor electoral party and therefore represented on the National Policy Forum.
It has been in contact with Ellie Reeves, Labour’s deputy national campaign coordinator, about its campaign to encourage expats to vote Labour, which has also been discussed at recent National Executive Committee meetings.
Foreign voters form an important constituency for the first time in these elections. Rules introduced this year mean 3.5 million adults can now vote.
Several leading members of Labor International, including Ms Urquhart, are founders of the Labor Campaign for Free Movement.
Ms Urquhart also told the Mallorca newspaper in March that Brexit had not been ‘thought through properly’.
A Labor spokesman said: ‘None of this is our policy. We have left the EU and it is clear to Labor that we are not going back. That does not mean a return to the internal market, the customs union or free movement.’
A spokesperson for Labor International said: ‘Keir Starmer has made it clear that we must make a serious effort to get an improved post-Brexit deal for Britain.
‘It is clear to our president that she is referring to freedom of movement within the EU for British citizens. This is a different issue than traffic between the EU and Great Britain.”
