'Not under my watch': Labour's Starmer pledges to not drag UK into EU

As the United Kingdom gears up to hold its parliamentary elections, Labour Party leader Keir Starmer has made it clear that the country will not join the European Union “within his lifetime”. Starmer also emphasised that he would not drag the UK into the single market or the customs union as he spoke to the reporters on this matter.

In recent days, Starmer has been more open about what his party will do if he comes to power after multiple polls suggested that the Labour are heading towards a landslide victory. He also went on to mention that his administration would seek to extend the parliamentary timetable immediately after the election.

The Labour Party leader mentioned that there is a need to extend the timetable to allow the parliament more time to legislate before the summer. The proclamation from Starmer came after speculations started brewing that the Labour would pursue re-entry of the UK to the customs union or single market during their second term.

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While the Labour Party leader made it clear that he would not join any of the three blocs, he noted that if he comes to power, his government would work on ensuring better trade ties with the EU.

“No. I don’t think that that is going to happen. I’ve been really clear about not rejoining the EU, the single market or the customs union – or [allowing a] return to freedom of movement," the Labour Party leader averred, The Guardian reported.

“I do think we could get a better deal than the botched deal we got under Boris Johnson on the trading front, in research and development and on security,” he added.

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While addressing the gathering, Starmer emphasised that the party will also work to deal with the UK’s filled-up prison. However, he asserted that these policies cannot come into action in just 24 hours.

“In terms of the specific things that we will do, we’ll have to wait and see what that is, but I can’t stand here and pretend to you or everybody else that we can build a prison in 24 hours after the election result is called,” Starmer explained. “We have to get on with the hard yards of sorting this mess out, but it is one massive mess," the British politician furthered.

With inputs from agencies.