LABOUR’S Minister for EU Relations sparked fury yesterday by claiming Brexit was never properly debated by the public.
Nick Thomas-Symonds insisted that in the lead-up to the 2016 referendum , “instead of a grown up conversation about sovereignty, about trade offs and responsibility, we got slogans and shouting matches, empty promises and bitter divisions.”
The Cabinet Minister made the remark while defending Sir Keir Starmer’s Brexit “reset” deal with Brussels.
The agreement binds Britain to EU rules on food and plant standards, without giving the UK any say over what those regulations are or how they might change.
In return, border checks on goods moving between Britain and the EU are scrapped.
Nigel Farage hit out at Labour yesterday, accusing the party of “trying to betray Brexit.”
He said: “That is going back on a promise Labour made to the electorate.”
Mr Farage has pledged to tear up the deal if he wins the next general election.
A Reform spokesperson added: “Cosying up to the EU and leaving us entangled in reams of retained EU law which Kemi Badenoch failed to scrap will not resuscitate Britain’s struggling economy .”
The debate erupted earlier in the week as Labour pushed for the permanent food and drink pact with Brussels.
The Government wanted a deal nailed down within 18 months to replace a stop-gap which scrapped border checks on EU fruit and veg.
That temporary fix, which covers tomatoes, grapes and peppers, means lorries can roll straight into Britain without extra fees or paperwork.
But it is set to expire on January 2027.
Nick Thomas-Symonds said to a Spectator event in London that aligning with EU standards will boost growth and cut bills at the checkout.
But the Tories warned it risks dragging Britain back under Brussels’ rules.
