Speaking to GB News at the Arc Conference in London, Frost said the UK would have to accept EU laws or pay a financial penalty to get a deal done, according to GB News.
Former Brexit negotiator Lord Frost has blasted Sir Keir Starmer’s plan for a migration pact with the EU. He revealed some of the major compromises the party will have to make to get a deal across the line. Frost warned that the UK would have to “pay a price” if it wanted to return to the bloc. He said this could be due to either the adoption of EU laws or the financial cost.
Earlier this year, the Labour leader unveiled his new plan to tackle illegal migration, which is expected to include a cross-border approach to tackling gangs. He plans to push for an EU-wide agreement on the return of asylum seekers arriving in the UK. This could involve the UK agreeing to a quota of migrants it would be forced to accept from the EU each year.
Asked whether the UK would have to hand over money or power to Brussels to make a deal happen, the former Brexit negotiator said:
For sure, Every negotiation involves a set of tradeoffs and I think Labour are possibly still in the world where they think because they sound sort of nice and progressive and pro-European, the EU are going to give them any of these things without some sort of counter payment. The EU just doesn’t work like that, that is not how it relates to the rest of the world. And if you want some of these things then you’re going to have to pay a price, whether its money, whether its accepting EU law or whether it’s accepting something else we don’t want – that is the reality of this. So I keep asking Labour what are you prepared to give up to get these things? And they don’t have an answer.
Starmer also promised to secure a “better” version of the UK’s trade deal with the EU after Brexit when it comes up for review in 2025. However, Frost warned that such a move could mean taking on EU laws in some areas. Asked if he was worried about Labour moving us closer to the EU, Frost told GB News:
I do a bit, I must admit. I don’t think he could take us back into the EU in one go, given everything that’s happened, but I do think that he wants and the Labour Party clearly wants to get us back closer economically and politically. And, you know, maybe that means accepting EU laws in some areas, softened trade, accepting EU migration rules – even though one of the main motivations obviously of the Brexit referendum was to reduce migration. But I think he wants to do it, and I think, if we are unwise enough to elect Labour we will see this inching back.
