Shadow chancellor to warn that Theresa May’s apparent U-turn over Heathrow expansion shows she cannot be trusted to keep Brexit promises

Theresa May must not attempt to get special treatment for financial services at the expense of manufacturers and small businesses when the UK leaves the EU, Labour is to warn.

The shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, will set out his party’s vision for a fairer Brexit deal on Thursday, saying he does not believe the country wants a “bankers’ Brexit”, in a new pitch aimed at both Conservatives voters and working class leave voters.

Either Theresa May faked it for the bankers, or she’s faking now | Gaby Hinsliff Read more

“Let me be clear, those who have voted Conservative are not the same as the Tory establishment,” he will say in a speech at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in London.

“Like me, you will have friends who have voted Conservative. They don’t want a bankers’ Brexit any more than I do. The simple truth is that the Tory establishment cannot be trusted to make a success of Brexit. They want to take control for themselves, not the many.

“Labour will fight for all British businesses, not just financial services, to have single market access,” the shadow chancellor will say.

The British Bankers’ Association warned this week that financial services were “more affected by Brexit than any other sector of the economy, both in the degree of impact and the scale of the implications” because of the threat to EU passporting, which allows banks to operate in the single market while being based in the UK.

McDonnell will say that May’s apparent volte-face over Heathrow expansion demonstrates that she could just as easily renege on her pledge to forge a Brexit deal that benefited all Britons. The PM had previously promised her Maidenhead constituents she would oppose a third runway. McDonnell, whose Hayes and Harlington constituency contains Heathrow, is one of the most vocal opponents of expansion.

“Theresa May has shown that she will change her mind on a major constituency matter like Heathrow,” he will say. “If she is willing to turn her back on her constituents to satisfy the Conservative establishment, then how can we take on blind trust that she will seek a Brexit deal that benefits everyone in our country and not just Tory special interests?”

McDonnell, who was known as a Eurosceptic, though campaigned for remain in the referendum, will say a Labour government would be able to take advantage of leaving the EU, pinpointing state aid rules which bar governments from bailing out businesses because of competition law.

“Labour will take back the economic levers of power currently in the hands of the EU, such as over state-aid rules, and return them to the people,” he will say. “Not a Bankers’ Brexit for the lucky few, but a People’s Brexit for the many.”

McDonnell hinted that the UK should be prepared to pay EU budget contributions for single market access. “We will have to negotiate the best deal we can to gain access to the single market, because it is so crucial for jobs and the economy,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. “Whether we pay contributions is part of the negotiations.”

The current situation with free movement would also be likely to end, McDonnell said, and said any new arrangement had to ensure voters’ concerns about unskilled migrant labour were heard.

“We will still need to ensure there is movement from the UK into Europe and the other way round, we will still need to negotiate a system,” he told the BBC. “We cannot have a system where employers unscrupulously import labour to undercut wages. That means ensuring we have protections in place to overcome that problem.”