Political reporter

LABOUR’S right wing is stepping up pressure on Sir Keir Starmer to reverse Brexit, taking advantage of the weakness shown by beleaguered Prime Minister in a fresh U-turn over farmers’ inheritance tax.

Undeclared leadership challenger Health Secretary Wes Streeting has publicly called for Britain to rejoin the European Union’s customs union, forfeiting its autonomy on trade.

And a YouGov survey has shown that large majority of Labour voters would support both a renewal of customs union membership and the opening of talks on rejoining the EU as whole — 80 per cent for the former, 73 per cent for the latter.

Significantly, the poll showed very similar levels of support for an anti-Brexit position among declared Green voters. The Greens are presently neck and neck with Labour in the opinion polls.

Even 39 per cent of Tory voters back British membership of the customs union.

But Labour Deputy Leader Lucy Powell rebuked Mr Streeting yesterday, saying the government needed to stick to its manifesto, which ruled out joining the customs union.
 

“These things were in our manifesto for a reason, because we wanted the country to trust us. It’s a manifesto commitment and it’s really important that we stick to those,” she said.

Sir Keir is still fighting to stay in Downing Street, with a dramatic about-face on farmers’ inheritance tax the latest sign that he no longer has either a grip on government or a discernible political agenda.

The government announced that the threshold at which inheritance tax will be paid on farms is to rise to £2.5 million from the £1m previously proposed, meaning 85 per cent of farms will no longer pay extra.

The change, when announced earlier this year, led to sustained and angry protests by the farming community, which had hitherto been largely exempt from inheritance tax and said the new policy would prevent farms being passed on to children.

Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds announced the concession, saying: “We have listened closely to farmers across the country and we are making changes today to protect more ordinary family farms.”

National Farmers Union president Tom Bradshaw said he was “thankful common sense has prevailed and government has listened.”

The climbdown will cost the Treasury £130 million and is the latest failure by the government to impose new burdens on working people, following reversals on winter fuel benefit and cuts to personal independence payments for disabled people.

The temptation will be growing on Sir Keir to tiptoe towards Brussels, something he has hitherto been hesitant to do for fear of a political backlash.  

One Labour MP in a “red wall” seat warned that any such move would go down “like a cup of cold sick” in his constituency.