'It's not what Britain voted for!' Redwood SCOLDS Chuka Umunna over single market dream

Appearing on Sky News, the Tory MP blasted his Labour rival Mr Umunna for hailing Labour’s move to support the UK staying within the EU mechanisms during a transition period before suggesting Britain should make the arrangement a permanent one.

Mr Redwood reminded Mr Umunna of what the UK voted for after the Labour MP spoke of the “economic benefits” of remaining within the internal market.

Mr Umunna said: “I would like to see the Labour party move its position further so that our position is for us to stay in the single market and have a customs union with the European Union after we leave.

“Because that’s the best way we can retain the economic benefits that businesses, entrepreneurs watching this programme, can continue to enjoy the economic and trading benefits that we have with the European Union once we have left.

“The only way you get the frictionless trade and the benefits of the single market and the customs union that everybody says that we want is by staying in those two things.”

But Mr Redwood fired back and said the Brexit vote – backed by 17.4million people – demonstrated how the British public “clearly rejected” Mr Umunna’s vision.

He replied: “I don’t think that’s on offer and it’s not what the British people voted for – they voted to leave the single market and the customs union.

“Because of course, it comes with financial contributions and freedom of movement attached and those are things the British public clearly rejected.”

The heated exchange comes after shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer told The Observer coming out of the single market and customs union during the transition period would be ”unnecessary and a highly risky path to take”.

He said: “Labour would seek a transitional deal that maintains the same basic terms that we currently enjoy with the EU. That means we would seek to remain in a customs union with the EU and within the single market during this period. It means we would abide by the common rules of both.”