Labour’s Brexit trauma may have only just begun

Keir Starmer is desperate for Brexit to be done. To that end, he whipped his MPs to vote for the Boris Brexit deal at the end of last year, fearing that to do otherwise would be to prolong Labour’s long running agony on the subject. The only problem with this plan is that Labour’s trauma with Brexit may only have just begun. So much so, I think it could be one of the main causes of defeat in 2024, should that take place.

The genius of the Brexit deal is that in one real sense it does ‘get Brexit done’, while in another it leaves open the fact that there will still be plenty to work out between the UK and the EU over the coming years – all of which can be spun to the Tories’ advantage. Starmer, by voting for the deal and since remaining silent on the issue, has given Boris all the leeway he will likely require in his relationship with the EU over the coming years.