Labour’s Keir Starmer was in Montreal over the weekend, enjoying a “centrist dads and mums” conference – officially the Global Progress Action conference – alongside Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau and former prime ministers Jacinda Ardern of New Zealand and Sanna Marin of Finland. On the sidelines he gave an interview to the FT, pledging a major renegotiation of Britain’s Brexit trade deal with the EU. Noting that Boris Johnson’s deal comes up for review in 2025, Starmer said he wanted to achieve a closer trading relationship for the sake of his children – while ruling out rejoining the customs union or single market. It is the second time in a week that Starmer – who travels to Paris tomorrow to meet France’s Emmanuel Macron – has jumped into a touchpoint issue for Conservatives, after he called for more European cooperation to tackle cross-channel migration. But with a 20-point poll lead and conference season approaching, it’s past time for Labour to set out what it stands for.
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