M&S backs Starmer’s bid for closer EU relations

M&S has backed Keir Starmer’s call for closer ties with the EU and an end to “Brexit bureaucracy”, The Telegraph has reported.

Speaking to the paper, M&S head of food Alex Freudmann urged the prime minister to “move with pace to remove the red tape governing trade across the Irish Sea”.

Freudmann argued that rules surrounding shipments to Ireland were burdening the supermarket with millions of extra pounds of costs, holding up trucks and giving the company “paperwork that takes hours to complete”. 

M&S has 39 shops in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, alongside more than 300 standalone food stores in the UK. 

Freudmann continued: “There is no difference in food standards between the UK and the EU so why do the rules pretend that there is? Five years on, it is time to put an end to the Brexit bureaucracy that burdens both UK and Irish businesses.”

The call comes as Starmer aims to reset relations with the EU, holding talks with officials from the bloc in recent days and having made closer ties with the EU a central part of his growth plans.

Possible measures under consideration include reducing the burden of checks on food products crossing the Channel. However, the EU has indicated that for this to happen, Britain must adopt all existing and future European laws on food and agriculture into its legislation.

A spokesperson for the government told The Telegraph: “If we want to grow our economy, we need to reduce barriers to UK and EU trade, which is why we have stopped the introduction of UK-wide ‘not for EU’ labelling.

“In the Government’s manifesto, we committed to tearing down unnecessary barriers to trade by seeking to agree a veterinary agreement with the EU – which could remove unnecessary checks and paperwork, and help tackle the cost of food.”