The UK does not need to be a “supplicant” to the EU to improve its trading relationship, Kemi Badenoch is to warn before the Government’s forthcoming negotiations with the bloc.
The Conservative leader will also claim that “Eurocrats” have “had a 10-year tantrum over Brexit”, and accuse Sir Keir Starmer of forgetting that the UK has led European nations on issues like Ukraine, as she visits Brussels.
The Tory leader’s remarks at the International Democratic Union forum, a conference of centre-right politicians from across the globe, comes before the UK-EU summit in London next week.
Britain and the bloc will discuss closer trade alignment when they meet, after the Government said it wanted to repair ties with the EU.
Sir Keir and EU leaders have said they want to see closer defence and security co-operation, and both sides have expressed interest in a youth mobility scheme and aligned farming standards.
Such measures could result in trade-offs for the UK, as easier access to EU markets would likely come at the expense of being able to set its own rules.
In her speech in Brussels, Mrs Badenoch is expected to say: “We can improve our relationship with European countries, but not by being a supplicant. Keir Starmer seems willing to give up our fish to the French and to pay to be allowed to be part of a defence pact.
“He forgets Britain is Europe’s prime military power and we led the way in supporting Ukraine. We should be working through Nato with our allies on the continent, not seeing our citizens pushed to the back of a passport queue because Eurocrats in Brussels have had a 10-year tantrum over Brexit.”
Hitting out at Labour, she will add: “My worry is that when Labour negotiates, Britain loses. From paying to give away our territory in Chagos to the tiny tariff agreement with President Trump which the Prime Minister overhyped, he assumes a weaker position.
“That’s why my party is clear that we will reverse any deal which breaks my five Brexit tests. We need to put our national interest first and move forwards – not reopen the battles of the past.”
