Theresa May could have “no option” but to accept a customs union with the EU if she wants to get a Brexit deal through parliament, Rebecca Long-Bailey has said.
The shadow business secretary said on Wednesday morning that Labour was in turn prepared to “move towards” the government’s position.
The prime minister is hoping to conclude talks with Jeremy Corbyn by the middle of next week.
According to The Daily Telegraph, Chief Whip Julian Smith has told the cabinet it was “time to get real” and accept a deal had to be done with Labour.
And The Daily Mail reported that he warned: “It’s a customs union or a second referendum, and we are not having a second referendum.”
Any move to keep the UK in a customs union with the EU after Brexit will anger many Tory MPs.
Jeremy Hunt, the foreign secretary, warned yesterday that May would lose more Tory MP votes than gain Labour MP votes if she backed the plan.
HuffPost UK understands the prime minister angered Brexiteer ministers by blocking plans to put the withdrawal agreement bill (WAB) to a vote in the Commons this week.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4′s Today programme, Long-Bailey said of a customs union: “I think, pragmatically, that they potentially may have no option in order to be able to push this deal through.
“We are fleshing out the details to see how far the government can move towards us and then we will be able to ascertain how far we are able to move towards them.
“There are certain issues that we think they will be prepared to move on and we might be prepared to support certain positions.
“There are certain areas which we haven’t seen any movement at all. We want to take a view on the whole package, the whole deal, to see if there has been any true movement.”