SIR - Bradford for Europe welcomes Sunak's 'Windsor Framework' as a move away from the previous ultra-hard Brexit policy. However, it is baby steps only and we hope that further shifts will follow.
Sunak's policy is now very close to where Keir Starmer's is: the objective being “to make Brexit work better”.
In these circumstances Sir Keir would do well to re-calibrate Labour policy and make it, from a Remainer perspective, more ambitious.
Labour needs to understand that there is less mileage in seeking to win over those former Labour voters who voted to “get Brexit done” in 2019 compared with enthusing Labour voters (over 75per cent of whom voted “Remain” ) and others with a more pro-Rejoin policy.
Public opinion has shifted markedly in the last two years, with now 54per cent of those questioned by pollsters saying that the the UK was wrong to leave the EU and only 34per cent saying that it was right.
In a moment of possibly unintended frankness Sunak admitted that Northern Ireland benefited from being inside the EU Single Market. What Starmer should draw from that is that the rest of the UK would benefit from being back inside the Single Market and customs union.
For the moment that would leave the UK still outside full EU membership, but would constitute a major and welcome step along the road.
John Cole, Chair, Bradford for Europe, Oakroyd Terrace, Baildon
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