Just a few thoughts about Keir Starmer's statement on the EU.
The EU would not, at the present time, accept an application from the UK to re-join either the EU itself, or just the Single Market. It has been a full two years since the UK ended the transistion period and formally left the EU, and the fact is that the UK has already diverged too far from EU economic and regulatory standards for either to be considered.
Alignment with EU standards is a formal pre-requisite for any future renewal renewal of the UK's EU membership, and David Lammy, and now Keir Starmer, have already outlined that greater alignment with the EU's standards will be the policy of a new Labour government.
It should not be forgotten that whatever Starmer announces now relates specifically to the next election, and the next (hopefully Labour)government. The absolutely overwhelming imperative at that election is evicting the Tory Party and returning Labour to government. Given that it would be literally impossible for the UK to re-join the EU or its single market during the next government, Starmer is absolutely correct to give a commitment that Labour will not do so.
This does NOT mean that Starmer is now "pro Hard Brexit", or "no different from the Tories" or any of the other idiotic ephithets I've seen being bandied about on social media or Bluemoon.
What it does do is clear the way for a future Labour government, having aligned the UK closely with EU standards in its first term, to begin a process that will eventually see the UK's EU membership restored, most probably in a second Labour term of government.
It may not be possible to disarm the Tories for the attacks that they will choose to make against Labour for seeking to re-join the EU, defy the "WiLl Of ThE pEoPlE!!!1!", or for not being trusted with Brexit - all potent weapons, as we have seen - but we can spike those particular guns.In the context of the overwhelming objective of removing Johnson's government at the next election, it is absolutely essential.