Ed Davey speech: Negotiate a UK-EU Customs Union to “turbocharge economy” and strengthen hand against Trump

Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey will today call on the Government to negotiate a new UK-EU Customs Union, to boost Britain’s economy and ability to deal with the incoming Trump Presidency from a position of strength.

In his first major speech of the year, Ed Davey will criticise the Labour Government for ruling out a Customs Union with the EU, saying it would be the best way to tear down trade barriers and “turbocharge our economy in the medium and long term.”

He will call on ministers to negotiate a new deal with the EU this year, with the goal of forming a Customs Union by 2030 at the latest, arguing this will allow the UK to “deal with President Trump from a position of strength, not weakness.”

He will then criticise Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch for wanting to go “cap in hand” to Donald Trump and “beg for whatever trade deal he’ll give us.” And he will criticise Nigel Farage for “fawning over Trump and licking his boots”, being “more interested in advancing Trump’s agenda over here than the UK’s interests over there.”

On a new UK-EU Customs Union, Ed Davey is expected to say:

The UK must be far more positive, far more ambitious, and act with far more urgency. That is why, today, I am calling on the Government to negotiate a brand-new deal with the EU this year.

Not just tinkering around the edges of the botched deal the Conservatives signed four years ago. But negotiating a much better deal for Britain, that has at its heart a new UK-EU Customs Union, to come into force by twenty-thirty at the latest.

Forming a Customs Union with the EU is not only the single biggest thing we can do to turbocharge our economy in the medium and long term. But an agreement to work towards one would unlock big economic benefits for the UK now and start tearing down those damaging Conservative trade barriers this year. It would be a win-win for our country, and I still can’t understand why the Government continues to rule it out.

On Kemi Badenoch and Nigel Farage, Ed Davey is expected to say:

The answer cannot be to do what some – like the Leader of the Conservative Party – would have us do. Approach Trump from a position of weakness. Go to him cap in hand and beg for whatever trade deal he’ll give us.

Nor can we take the Farage approach of fawning over Trump and licking his boots, seemingly more interested in advancing Trump’s agenda over here than the UK’s interests over there.

Neither of those is the way to get a good deal for Britain or get Trump to take us seriously. If we seem as weak or as desperate as the Conservatives or Reform would have us appear, Trump will treat the UK the same way he has treated so many throughout his career.

On dealing with President Trump from a position of strength, Ed Davey is expected to say:

How do we deal with Trump from strength? The answer is to show we are not so reliant on the United States. That the UK has alternatives, and won’t be bullied into taking whatever Trump offers us.

And we do that by urgently strengthening our relationships with the UK’s other partners. Whether that be Commonwealth nations like Canada and India, also figuring out how to deal with Trump. Or, most importantly, our European neighbours, whose economic and security interests are so closely intertwined with ours.

We can rebuild our crucial relationship with Europe so much faster. That is how we can protect our economy, defend European security, and deal with President Trump from a position of strength, not weakness.

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9 Comments

  • Mick Taylor 16th Jan '25 - 9:29am

    About time too

  • Peter Martin 16th Jan '25 - 10:03am

    So Ed is saying ” {A return to the CU} would be the best way to tear down trade barriers and ‘turbocharge our economy in the medium and long term.’ ”

    I was expecting that we would have remained in the CU after Brexit. We could have done so why didn’t we? There was enough, or should have been enough, support in Parliament for that option on both sides the Remain/Leave divide. The fact that we didn’t has to be down to the ultra-Remainers siding with the ultra-Leavers and voting against the proposal

    However, let’s not get carried away. We’ve been in the CU before. We were in the customs union during the period of austerity from 2010 to 2016 which led to the leave vote. It’s a bit of a stretch to claim that our economy was ever “turbocharged”!

  • Craig Levene 16th Jan '25 - 10:44am

    Labour have already stated a wish to renegotiate a better deal with the EU, what that will look like is anyone’s guess.
    They’ve repeatedly ruled out SM membership , so it’ll probably be tinkering with the existing deal , and dressing it up as a triumph.
    The EU hardly looks like the land of milk & honey looking at the economic stats. It’s very doubtful it will make any difference to those that are struggling, as it certainly didn’t when we were in it.

  • Jake Martindale 17th Jan '25 - 7:56am

    This is a step in the right direction. We need him to keep championing this cause. Hopefully Labour also takes this on before it’s too late…

  • David Murray 17th Jan '25 - 9:45am

    Donald Trump will not be President in 2030, the end date Ed gives for implementation. So it would only serve as a ‘good intention’ to restore links with the EU. I don’t see how it could turbocharge the economy between now and then. I agree that the CU is a better bet than the SM because it does not incur free movement which Labour are keen to avoid. Support for a Youth Mobility scheme will demonstrate whether Labour are serious about a reset, or are just playing politics and putting off any meaningful negotiations with the EU.

  • Mark Frankel 17th Jan '25 - 11:20am

    The Brexiters got their way by banging on about Europe. Now it’s our turn.

  • Catherine Royce 18th Jan '25 - 10:57am

    This is a really good start, Ed’s best so far? -and clearly differentiates us from all other UK parties. We should also be emphasising that we do 4 times more trade with the EU (or at least did, before Brexit) than we do with the USA. We should be able to get back to that quickly after any EU deal. It will also be alot better for the environment!

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