Keir Starmer claims he'll only achieve his 'better relationship' with the EU if Labour proves to Brussels it will stick to existing trade terms - as new PM completes his triumphal UK tour by posing with beleaguered Welsh First Minister Vaughan Gething
Sir Keir Starmer today suggested he would only achieve his hoped-for 'better deal' with the EU if Labour can prove it will stick to current Brexit arrangements.
The Prime Minister said his new Government would have to 'demonstrate a commitment to the relationship and the agreements' already in place.
Ahead of last week's general election, Sir Keir promised to rewrite the current Brexit trade agreement as he attacked Boris Johnson's 'botched deal'.
Speaking in Belfast today, the PM reiterated his wish to 'improve relations with the EU'.
But he suggested this would only come if the UK showed it was continuing to abide by the current deal - including the Windsor Framework for Northern Ireland.
Sir Keir made a trip to Stormont to meet Northern Ireland's political leaders as he continued his triumphal tour of the UK after Labour's huge election win.
After meeting Scottish First Minister John Swinney in Edinburgh yesterday, the PM travelled to Belfast before then meeting beleaguered Welsh First Minister Vaughan Gething in Cardiff today.
Mr Gething last month lost a vote of no confidence in the Welsh Senedd, but he has refused to resign as First Minister because the motion was not binding.
Sir Keir Starmer today suggested he would only achieve his hoped-for 'better deal' with the EU if Labour can prove it will stick to current Brexit arrangements
The Prime Minister was pictured with Northern Ireland's First Minister Michelle O'Neill as he met with Northern Ireland's political leaders at Stormont
Sir Keir later met with beleaguered Welsh First Minister Vaughan Gething in Cardiff as he continued his triumphal tour of the UK
On his visit to Stormont, Sir Keir was pressed on his bid to strengthen Britain's ties with the EU.
Northern Ireland's political institutions were left unable to function for two years while the DUP staged a long protest against initial Brexit arrangements under the Northern Ireland Protocol.
They agitated against the economic and legal barriers created between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK under the terms of the agreement.
Former PM Rishi Sunak saw his Windsor Framework - his attempt to overcome the long UK-EU stand-off over the Protocol - also opposed by the DUP.
Asked today if his ultimate aim was to secure a trade deal that saw the whole of the UK interacting with the EU on the same basis, without any divergence for Northern Ireland, Sir Keir said: 'You are right to say we want to improve relations with the EU,' he replied.
'We think we can get a better deal than the botched deal that Boris Johnson brought home and we will work on that, understanding the work that needs to be done and the nature of the challenge.
'In the meantime we do have to get on with implementing the important changes that are necessary under the existing arrangements we have got because we are not going to be able to get a better relationship unless we demonstrate a commitment to the relationship and the agreements that have already been put in place.'
