Star comment: Brexit vote politics not acceptable

In recent times, Jeremy Corbyn has faced smears and unpleasantness as opponents have sought to undermine his position.

And, of course, while he leads one of Britain’s two major political parties, he does so from a position where he has little or no power.

Yet on the issue of Brexit, he is casting himself as a Kingmaker.

By adopting a position that runs contrary to that of the ruling Conservative Government, he is creating a Commons showdown that will severely undermine Theresa May. For Mr Corbyn knows disaffected Tories, Liberals and Labour members will most likely side with him in a Commons vote, thereby bringing about a defeat for Mrs May.

And while such politicking might be fine on some issues; on Brexit, it is not.

For just as Mr Corbyn has done the maths and taken a calculated stance, so will the leaders of 27 European members. Rather than setting out an agenda that might benefit the UK, he is setting out an agenda that severely restricts Mrs May’s opportunities to negotiate.

The issue on which his gamble hangs is that of a customs union.

At present, we are able to enjoy tariff-free trade with our European brothers and sisters. That, by respecting the will of the people, will come to an end in 2019, or after the transition period.

Britain must then renegotiate terms for trade with Europe.

Of course it wants the best possible outcome, with tariff-free, frictionless trade if possible. However, the general public voted for Britain to have the opportunity to trade freely with countries outside Europe too.

As a nation, we must be sensible and realise we can’t have the moon on a stick. Europe will not allow us tariff-free trade with it if we are to enjoy a competitive advantage with other global trading nations by securing better deals with them – deals not available to, for instance, France, Germany or Spain.

It is a question of balance and a question of realistic expectations.

However, post-Brexit vote, politicians ought to have worked harder to develop a better consensus.

The political ding-dong between the Conservatives and Labour does nothing for national unity and undermines our ability to secure good trading relations with our European neighbours. There is much to play for in the months ahead.