Boost for Tory rebels as Jeremy Corbyn calls for post-Brexit customs union with EU

Jeremy Corbyn has called for the UK to remain part of a customs union once the country leaves the European Union.

Speaking from Coventry, the Labour leader said that membership of a customs union would help to shore up the economic interests of the country.

Corbyn said that Labour would "seek a final deal that gives full access to European markets and maintains the benefits of the single market and the customs union."

Currently, the UK is part of the EU customs union which is written into the bloc's treaties.

The EU's customs union means that all trade in goods between member states is free of duty charges and taxes.

Corbyn stated that remaining in a "bespoke" customs union would help prevent the need for a hard border in Northern Ireland.

This revised stance from Labour could lead to a major showdown with the government, with a series of Tory rebels proposing to vote in favour of a post-Brexit customs union.

So far, Theresa May has stated that the UK will leave both the single market and the customs union, allowing it to negotiate its own post-Brexit trade deals.

But Corbyn said that these deals, especially with the likes of China and the US could lead to a "race to the bottom" when it came to international standards and worker's rights.

"Labour respects the result of the referendum and Britain is leaving the EU. But we will not support any Tory deal that would do lasting damage to jobs, rights and living standards," Corbyn said.

He went on to accuse the Conservatives of having "no economic plan and no plan for Brexit" and said that a Labour government would not see the "scapegoating of migrants, no setting one generation against another and no playing off the nations of the UK".

Tories reacted badly to Corbyn's speech, claiming it to be a "cynical attempt to frustrate Brexit."