Labor leader Keir Starmer abandoned his fight against Brexit a long time ago.

Now the former “Remainer” also wants to silence the last voices in the party that are still dreaming of rejoining the EU.

In a speech excerpts of which were made public on Monday, Starmer laid down the party line.

It says: "Let me be clear: We will not rejoin the EU, the internal market or the customs union." Starmer also rejects the idea of ​​reintegrating into the EU system of freedom of movement because of the labor market bottlenecks.

"We will not return to free movement to solve short-term problems." Instead, the Labor Party will "invest in our people and in our places".

Jochen Buchsteiner

Political correspondent in London.

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This is likely to disappoint many in the opposition party.

Labor members, including London Mayor Sadiq Khan, have toyed with the idea of ​​reversing Brexit.

In particular, the proposal to at least rejoin the single market has recently become more popular.

It is also being promoted by Conservatives, such as Tobias Ellwood MP, and even by ardent Tory Brexiteers like former MEP Daniel Hannan.

This, in turn, has prompted the beleaguered Prime Minister's camp to warn that Brexit is "not in safe hands" with possible Boris Johnson successors.

The economic consequences of Brexit are unclear

Leaving the single market, which a softer Brexit could have prevented, not only aggravated the political situation in Northern Ireland because it made goods controls at the border with Great Britain necessary.

It is also believed to be one of the reasons for the current difficulties in the UK labor market and trade balance.

The Office for Budget Responsibility, a formally independent body appointed by the Treasury, recently stated that Brexit is costing the UK £100 billion a year.

The "Resolution Foundation" also came to negative assessments.

Such numbers are viewed with skepticism in the government.

Brexit Minister Jacob Rees-Mogg recently pointed out that many think tanks are run by Brexit opponents.

He announced that the government would not commission its own calculations of the economic consequences.

In Downing Street, such calculations are considered dubious because they can hardly be separated from the effects of the corona pandemic and the war in Ukraine.

At the same time, non-measurable benefits are highlighted.

Rees-Mogg said Brexit was “about democracy”.

“Can you change your government, and can you choose how you are governed?

– That is the overwhelming advantage of Brexit.” In particular, the dismantling of EU regulations will make the kingdom more prosperous in the long term, he assured.

Starmer is now striving to “make better use of the opportunities presented by Brexit” than the government is doing.

The “bad contract” that Johnson negotiated also needs to be repaired.

The dispute over the application of the agreement in Northern Ireland should be settled amicably with Brussels.

"There are those who say: We don't have to ensure that Brexit succeeds, we should turn it around - I completely disagree." The manuscript goes on to say: "You cannot look ahead or achieve growth or create change or regain the confidence of those who have lost it in politics by constantly focusing on the arguments of the past.” This would be “a recipe for more division” and would paralyze Britain for another decade.