More than 50 Labour politicians, including frontbenchers, have signed a statement claiming young voters backed their party in 2017 because they wanted it to “stop the Tories in their tracks” over Brexit.

The group, made up of dozens of MPs, peers and MEPs on the left and right of the party, claimed the best way to do that was by “fighting unambiguously for membership of the single market”.

In an intervention that will increase the pressure on Jeremy Corbyn to further differentiate his position from that of the Tories, the politicians say “mere access” to the internal market will make working people poorer and hit revenues.

That will make it harder to “bring an end to years of damaging Tory austerity”, they say.



The Labour politicians claim a “motley crew of hard-right, pro-Brexit Tories” such as Michael Gove and Boris Johnson, are among those pushing hardest for the UK to leave the market.



“We should not be providing political cover to hard-right Tories who stand diametrically opposed to Labour values,” they say, after claims that the general election had “dramatically changed” the situation regarding Brexit.

Among the signatories are shadow ministers Andy Slaughter, Daniel Zeichner and Ruth Cadbury, as well as Thangam Debbonaire, an opposition whip.

Others involved are Chuka Umunna, Stephen Doughty, Stella Creasy, Chris Bryant, and the peers Peter Hain and John Monks, who used to be general secretary of the TUC. There are also 10 MEPs, including Lucy Anderson – a strong supporter of Corbyn.

Labour’s Brexit spokesman Kier Starmer has said full membership of the single market will not be possible Photograph: Reuters

Dozens of those signing up to the statement are also creating a new anti-hard Brexit PLP group that will try to block any government moves that could weaken Britain’s economic ties to the EU.

While they do not directly criticise the Labour leadership over Brexit, the statement calls for a clear shift in position given that the shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, and the shadow Brexit secretary, Keir Starmer, have made clear that full single market membership is not on the table.

The group praises Corbyn’s “jobs first” attitude, but says that “mere access to the single market” is not enough. They argue that membership will help protect workers’ rights, such as holiday pay, maternity and paternity leave and the right to join a union, protect the environment and help “advance social justice”.

They also question the motives of those wanting to break economic ties more completely.

“Who is leading the charge to junk our membership of the single market? A motley crew of hard-right, pro-Brexit Tories. Michael Gove. Boris Johnson. John Redwood. Iain Duncan Smith. Priti Patel,” they write, saying the Conservative figures want to weaken social protections.

“Redwood authored a plan to cut regulation in Britain by 25%. Priti Patel went one further, calling on the ‘burden’ of EU regulations – those rules that protect working people – to be ‘halved’. We should not be providing political cover to hard-right Tories who stand diametrically opposed to Labour values.”

Moreover, the group argue that pushing for continuing membership need not mean giving in on free movement of people. They stress that under the rules, Britain could require EU citizens to leave if they have no job or a prospect of a job within three months of arriving. They also claim that state aid rules – sometimes cited by those opposed to ongoing membership – have not stopped Germany from supporting their industries.

The group calls for Labour, under Corbyn’s leadership, to “not throw in the towel as May had done but … seek membership with reforms on immigration and the other matters we seek”.

Lord Hain said: “Although I think that Keir Starmer is doing a brilliant job, there is a massive appetite in the country for protecting jobs and prosperity through retaining membership of the single market, [and] that is what we should prioritise. I’m confident we can get a deal to restrict EU migrants to just those who work.”

He said he hoped the leadership would respond by endorsing the policy laid out in the letter, claiming that no one in Labour – from the leader to the grassroots – wanted anything to do with a deregulated, low-tax Brexit.

The anti-hard Brexit PLP is likely to meet fortnightly and try to organise over parliamentary votes and early day motions. Members are also likely to talk to backbench MPs in other parties about how to coordinate action in favour of the softest possible Brexit.

“We desperately want to mount the strongest possible opposition to the Tories’ nasty, extreme Brexit. Loads of Labour voters – particularly new, young voters – expect us not to go along with the Tories’ negotiating strategy but to argue for a more socially just alternative,” said Umunna.

The MPs are likely to get the backing of some unions, with the TUC general secretary, Frances O’Grady, telling the Guardian: “All MPs in the new parliament must take a fresh look at Brexit, because working people are still worried they will be left paying a price. We need a deal that puts jobs and workers’ rights first.”

Gina Miller, who led a Best for Britain campaign in the general election in support of candidates who would keep an open mind on Britain’s future relationship with the EU, said many voters did flock to Labour to stop the Tory Brexit.



“In my electoral campaigning we asked a direct question - do you want the next government to negotiate membership of the single market and against an extreme Brexit. And we spoke to people on the ground and that was the reason they were voting for Labour,” she said.

She pointed out that the Labour manifesto did not commit to leaving the single market, but did put jobs first. “The problem is that people were listening to the Labour message and they believed that message was against the Conservative party message. They were voting against the Conservative manifesto.”