Labour voters prefer Brexit retreat to pain of tax rises

Two-thirds back rejoining customs union in poll choice

- MILLIE COOKE

Two-thirds of 2024 Labour voters would rather Sir Keir Starmer abandon his Brexit red lines and join a customs union with the European Union than raise taxes on working people, new polling has revealed.

The poll comes after reports that the prime minister rejected calls from his chief economic adviser for Britain to rejoin the EU’s customs union in an attempt to improve growth ahead of the Budget, with the chancellor instead choosing to impose £26bn worth of tax rises after asking “ordinary people to pay a little bit more”.

The Savanta poll showed that fewer than one in five (18 per cent) Labour voters would prefer the government to raise taxes and continue to stay outside the EU’s customs union. Some 67 per cent backed rejoining the customs union instead of raising taxes, the polling commissioned by the Liberal Democrats showed.

Overall, just over half (52 per cent) of UK adults said they would rather the government join a customs union with the EU than raise taxes. Just one in five (21 per cent) said the opposite.

The results come after deputy prime minister David Lammy suggested that rejoining the customs union could increase economic growth - as ministers increasingly hit out at the financial damage caused by Brexit.