Labour to seek full tariff-free access to EU single market following Brexit Supreme Court ruling

Opposition wants to see legislation to prevent UK becoming ‘bargain-basement tax haven’

Mr Corbyn has said that Labour will not block Article 50 (PA)

Labour has said it will seek full tariff-free access to the single market following the Supreme Court’s ruling that Theresa May must consult Parliament on Article 50.

Party leader Jeremy Corbyn said his party would not “frustrate the process for invoking Article 50” but would seek to amend the legislation to prevent the UK becoming a “bargain-basement tax haven”.

He said: “Labour will seek to build in the principles of full, tariff-free access to the single market and maintenance of workers' rights and social and environmental protections.

“Labour is demanding a plan from the Government to ensure it is accountable to Parliament throughout the negotiations and a meaningful vote to ensure the final deal is given parliamentary approval.”

Shadow Brexit Secretary Sir Keir Starmer told Sky News that Labour would seek to amend government legislation to ensure Parliament had a meaningful role in the Brexit process.

Sir Keir said it was important for the Government to produce a formal document progress can be tested against.

“Parliament needs to have a meaningful role at the outset in knowing and setting out the objectives but also a grip on the process until we get to the conclusion,” he said.

He said it was “very important” for the Government to publish a formal statement of their negotiating objectives.

“Parliament and the select committees, and the public, need something formal that they can test progress against, because otherwise it’s very hard to see how accountability will work.”