Ministers braced for new vote on customs union after Lords defeat

Ministers are bracing themselves for a new vote on a customs union in the Commons in the aftermath of Wednesday night’s thumping defeat in the Lords.

An amendment to the EU withdrawal bill was carried by a majority of 123 in one of the largest votes ever recorded in the Lords. Former Conservative cabinet ministers were among the amendment’s backers. The amendment only commits the government to making a statement about the steps it has taken on a customs union.

Keir Starmer, the shadow Brexit secretary, said support was growing for staying in some form of customs union.

“There is a growing view, I think a majority view in parliament now, that it is in our national interest and economic interest to stay in a customs union with the EU. We’ve got a huge manufacturing sector in the UK that needs to be protected,” he said.

Michael Gove, the environment secretary and a leading Brexiter, acknowledged the lack of a majority made it difficult.

“We are always going to rely on the persuasive powers of ministers to get colleagues to support the government,” he said on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

“But I think the case for being outside the customs union, being able to sign our own free trade deals is a compelling and persuasive one and I know when that case is put to the Commons that it will rally Conservative MPs and others behind it.”

Starmer was also pressed on last week’s row in the Labour party, when shadow cabinet colleague Barry Gardiner dismissed Starmer’s six tests for any deal as “bollocks”.

Starmer insisted that Gardiner had retracted the comment and apologised for his off-the-cuff remarks made in an informal Q&A session at a meeting in Brussels.

“That test and all of the six tests I set were taken from the government; they weren’t plucked from thin air. That phrase, exact same benefits, was David Davis’s assurance from the dispatch box. The prime minister says ‘we are determined to beat them’ so the idea that they’ve been plucked out the air, that they can’t be met, is completely wrong.”

The amendment passed by the Lords would commit the government to report to parliament “outlining the steps” it had taken to secure “an arrangement which enables the UK to continue participating in a customs union with the European Union”.

A spokesperson for the Department for Exiting the European Union (DexEU) said: “We are disappointed that parliament has voted for this amendment. The fundamental purpose of this bill is to prepare our statute book for exit day, it is not about the terms of our exit. This amendment does not commit the UK to remaining in a customs union with the EU, it requires us to make a statement in parliament explaining the steps we’ve taken.”

But opposition peers hope the substantial support for the amendment could strengthen the hand of pro-customs union Conservative MPs, who have said they plan to force the issue in the Commons.