Dr. Wafik Moustafa, Chairman of the the British Arab Network, was this week interviewed about Brexit policy issues on BBC Arabic TV. He said it was important to do what is right for the British people before we exit the European Union.

Brexit: Keep single market for transition period – Labour

27 August 2017   www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-41064314

Labour would keep the UK in the EU single market and customs union for a transitional period after leaving the EU, the party has said.

Shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer set out Labour’s new position in the Observer.

The shift in policy would mean accepting the free movement of labour after leaving the EU in March 2019.

Sir Keir said the transition would be “as short as possible but as long as necessary”.

Meanwhile, Brexit Secretary David Davis has urged the European Commission to have a flexible approach to talks.

Labour’s leadership has been criticised by opponents for a lack of clarity on what deal Britain should seek immediately after leaving the EU.

Sir Keir said a transitional period was needed to avoid a “cliff edge” for the economy, so that goods and services could continue to flow between the EU and UK while negotiations on the permanent deal continued.

“Labour would seek a transitional deal that maintains the same basic terms that we currently enjoy with the EU,” he wrote.

“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.”

He compared this with the government’s preference for “bespoke” transitional arrangements after leaving the EU, which, Sir Keir said, were highly unlikely to be negotiated before March 2019.

He did not say how long the transitional period would be – only that it would be “as short as possible, but as long as is necessary”.